Banking Act of 1933 Glass-Steagall Act Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Banking Act of 1933 Glass-Steagall Act - Article Example Senator Carter Glass, who was a former treasury secretary, is the main man behind the act. Henry Steagall was the other sponsor. The act applies to both national banks and state chartered banks (Dept 12). Though the Glass-Steagall act, the government upheld its role to provide quality, public policy. It can be argued that the act went a long way in easing the depression. This occurred because of the measures the Act put in place to prevent further losses. For instance, limiting commercial banks investments prevented underwriting by banks. This allowed for faster liquidation of assets by banks. This led to separation of commercial banks from investment banks. In 1999, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act repealed the provision that restricted banks and securities firms affiliations section 16 prevented the purchasing or selling of securities by national banks except when the bank acts as a customer’s agent (Dept 23). Under the act, the government tried to resolve the conflict of interest that arises with regard to granting credit. Section 32 prevented common directors and employees access to credit Four sections of the act,sections16,20,21and 32,laid out the provisions for acquiring secur ities, both directly and indirectly in case the bank needed fast access to short term credit. For instance, section 11(a) prevented Federal Reserve member banks from placing loans to dealers or brokers. The Act limited the previous enormous power of the banks. This Act prevents bank’s ability to expand greatly, which was possible to achieve by creating a barrier between banking and insurance against aggressive expansions. As a result of the bank’s risky moves, there was the provision for insurance to minimize losses. Over time, limits on insurance from 2,500 USD in 1934, continues to take place. Currently the FIDC provides insurance for safety deposits of member banks of up to 250,000 USD per depositor in each bank initially, under the act. FDIC had the mandate to regulate and supervise banks, which are non-members in a given State. Through the US treasury, and Federal Reserve an initial 289 million funded the Act. The Act through FDIC also prohibited payment of intere sts on checking accounts. There are also provisions in the Act, which allow national banks to have branches statewide depending on the state’s law (Dept 20). The Glass-Steagall Act provided the government with the opportunity of displaying its understanding of the public’s interest. The institution of the Act by the government proved beneficial in helping the public deal with the recovery period after the effects of the Great economic depression of 1929. The creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) affected the public on a personal level compared to the other reforms brought about by this Act. This is because the FDIC created a buffer for citizens making a deposit of over 5,000 USD by insuring the money deposited. This served to eliminate any unforeseen, future risks, for example, an economic depression. As a result, individuals had the opportunity of getting their money back in the event of an economic catastrophe. The FDIC also helped to reaffirm the government’s commitment in safeguarding the financial welfare of its citizens (Dept 25). The different branches of the government played an integral role with regard to