The Glass-Steagall Act in historical perspective

Implementation of Volcker's Rule requires a historical perspective on the original Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 that separated commercial banking from investment banks in the United States. Like the Dodd-Frank legislation, the Banking Act of 1933 was passed before full analysis of the financial crisis was possible. The intended consequences of Glass-Steagall made Federal deposit insurance feasible by limiting entry of new banks while preserving unit banking. The unintended consequences, however, cut off access by small- and medium-size enterprises to external finance and also reduced the capital base for investment banks. Despite these harmful effects, the American economy did recover eventually.