The US Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) will hold its first public hearing on Wednesday.
The 10-member panel was established by Congress to examine the causes of the 2008 US financial crisis.
It will examine the “root causes of the crisis, hearing testimony on the causes and current state of the crisis” from private and public sector leaders.
Witnesses will include top executives from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.
Findings and the report of the panel, which has been given a reported budget of $8m to carry out its task, will be presented to Congress and President Barack Obama by 15 December.
One of the members of the panel, Keith Hennessey, has already posted on his blog the questions he would like to ask bank chiefs.
Mr Hennessey is ex-senior White House economic advisor to former US president George W Bush.
