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1791 Bank of the US
The Bank of the US was chartered in 1791 by Congress and signed by George Washington. It ended up failing because the states did not support it. They felt it gave too much power to the federal govenment. -
The 1816 Second Bank of the US
Not to be discouraged by the faliure of the first bank, the Second Bank of the US was charted in 1816. Unfortunately, it too failed because it did not regulate state banks or charter any other banks. -
Printing Currency
Before the Civil War, each state used a different currency. This made spending money out of your home state confusing and inconvenient. The federal government started printing money around the time of the Civil War. -
1863 National Banking Act
The National Banking Act allowed banks to have a state or federal charter. This is known as dual banking. -
1913 Federal Reserve Act
The 1913 federal Reserve Act was passed during President Woodrow Willson's administration and created our National Bank. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression started around the 1930's when the stock markets crashed. This in turn caused the banks to fail. The President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, declared a bank holiday where the banks had to close and could only reopen when they became financially stable. -
Glass-Steagall Banking Act
The Glass-Steagall Banking Act was an important act for banking customers. It established the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation which insures that even if the banks go under, you will still have your money. -
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Banking in 1982
During 1982 many events occured in the banking world. Congress relaxed some restrictions allowing Saving & Loan Banks to make high risk investments and loans. Unfortunatly, many of these investments went sour and quite a few banks failed. This led to the federal govenment having to reimburse investors and going $200 billion into debt. The FDIC eventually took over the Savings & Loans. -
1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
The 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was another critical point for banking. It gave banks more control over insurance, securities and banking. There were several downsides of this act. It may lead to the forming of a universal bank and there is less competition. More information may also be shared leading to a decrease in customer privacy.
