• The Glass-Steagall Act was passed in 1933 and separated investment and commercial banking in response to the participation of commercial banks in investments in the stock market.

  • This blending of commercial and investment banking was considered too risky and speculative, and was widely blamed for the Great Depression.
  • Thus, banks were given the right to choose either commercial banking or investment banking; however, as an exception, commercial banks were allowed to guarantee the issuance of government bonds.
  • The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act removed the Glass-Steagall Act’s restrictions on affiliation between commercial and investment banks in 1999, which some say triggered the 2008 financial crisis.