Glass–Steagall legislation

U.S. banking laws enacted in 1933 that separated commercial banking from much securities activity and established federal deposit insurance.

Banking Act of 1933: A U.S. law that reformed banking in 1933, including through deposit insurance and restrictions on bank securities activities. This statute contained the provisions commonly called Glass–Steagall.
Great Depression: A worldwide economic crisis beginning in 1929, marked by severe declines in production, employment, and trade. The crisis intensified pressure for sweeping U.S. banking reform.
Banking Act of 1935: A U.S. law that revised the Federal Reserve System and made deposit insurance permanent. It amended and consolidated parts of the 1933 banking framework.
Glass–Steagall Act: The common name for four banking provisions in the Banking Act of 1933 that restricted affiliations and activities involving commercial banks and securities firms. This narrower name denotes specific provisions, unlike the broader label for the legislation.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A U.S. federal agency that insures deposits at member banks and supervises certain financial institutions. The legislation created the FDIC to insure bank deposits.
Pecora Commission: A U.S. Senate investigation of financial practices on Wall Street, led by Ferdinand Pecora in the early 1930s. Its hearings exposed practices that helped build support for banking restrictions.
Bank Holding Company Act of 1956: A U.S. law regulating bank holding companies and limiting their nonbanking activities. It added a separate framework for controlling affiliations across financial businesses.
Emergency Banking Act: A U.S. law enacted in March 1933 to address the banking crisis and authorize reopening solvent banks. It preceded the Glass–Steagall legislation and focused on the immediate bank emergency.
Section 20 of the Glass–Steagall Act: A provision barring Federal Reserve member banks from affiliating with firms principally engaged in securities underwriting or dealing. It restricted securities firms’ affiliations with member banks.
Banking crisis of 1933: A wave of U.S. bank failures and closures that culminated in a nationwide banking holiday in March 1933. The crisis made restoring confidence in deposits an urgent legislative goal.

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