9.23.2008

"Everyone knows the Spiegel Act"

These were the words spoken to me by a patron who appeared to be rather frustrated when it took me more than 37 seconds to find an encyclopedia article on The Spiegel Act.

Turns out, we were looking for the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, commonly known as The Banking Act of 1933 (which we found approximately 23 seconds later. We were able to pull a few encyclopedia articles on the original act, as well as its repeal in 1999.)

The GSA was essentially an overhaul of the federal banking system - something much needed after the financial crisis the late 1920s/early 1930s. One of the major changes was the separation of commercial and investment banking -- commercial banks (that were members of the federal banking system) could not invest their money in the stock market (except for certain types of debt securities). This mandated separation was apparently repealed in another piece of legislation known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999.

As part of the Banking Act of 1933, Congress also established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures bank deposits and "maintains the stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system." I have to admit, I've never really paid attention to the FDIC before, but they maintain a well organized and extremely informative website. Generate reports on the current state of the banking industry and learn about insured deposits to your heart's content.

By the way, I kept bumping into the comptroller of currency (not literally, of course) while reading about this stuff. A comptroller is a "public official who audits government accounts and sometimes certifies expenditures." Now you know.

4 comments:

Daniel - Greenhouse Glimpses said...

This is really great information. Makes you wonder why the politicians that voted for the repeal of the Gramm Leach Bliley act are held accountable. Is it possible to publicize the voting record on this act?

Daniel - Greenhouse Glimpses said...

Ooops, I mean why aren't the politicians held accountable.

Anonymous said...

It's a shame the president at the time did not fight this.

Wondering if doubling the wind and solar power will help the United States? Does United States uses 1% total from these sources? How much is double - a huge 2%. There is more corruption with the energy situation, just give it some time and you will see.

Anonymous said...

I've been told that the repubicans put tremendous pressure on Clinton to repeale the portion of Glass Spiegel that prevented Banks from speculating in the stock market with other peoples money. Anyone have more details?