The history of federal legislation significantly affecting banking, securities, capital markets, and financial services in general, may conveniently be divided into three chronological periods: Civil War to New Deal; New Deal Era; and 1956 to the present. Examination of these laws reveals that the increasing role of the federal government in overseeing and protecting financial services has been primarily in response to turmoil or financial distress in the economy. For example, landmark legislation brought a greater federal presence into the financial arena to moderate the financial stress and adversity of the Civil War, the financial Panic of 1907, the Great Depression of the 1930s, and the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Much of this legislation persists, albeit in amended form, and can be viewed as the foundation of the structure under which the financial services industry operates today. Pre-New Deal legislation set up basic, continuing, entities, including the national banking system; the Federal Reserve System; and, in 1932, the Federal Home Loan Bank System. New Deal era legislation is probably most striking for its rigid separation of banking, securities, and insurance businesses, and for setting up major parts of the federal financial safety net, particularly deposit insurance. More recent legislation has permitted reintegration of these functions, allowing firms to compete across political boundaries, and in nontraditional businesses. The overall aim has been to produce a more level competitive "playing field" and continue to maintain safety. The effect has been generally to produce an increasingly more uniform structure of U.S. financial providers. Especially in the last two decades, laws have progressively "deregulated" New Deal or earlier controls over geography, pricing, and products of banking and financial services providers. The growing complexities of financial transactions have prompted financial services companies to maintain data bases containing large amounts of information on their individual customers, raising a potential for improper use. This has prompted increasing federal regulation of customer financial information to protect customer privacy, deter criminal activity, and in the interest of national security. The laws cited are those chosen for their historical significance, their present importance in the federal scheme of regulating financial services businesses, or their recent enactment. 12 U.S.C. §§ 21-215b. This act establishes the national banking system and prescribes a comprehensive system of regulation for federally chartered banks, under the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency within the U.S. Treasury Department. It was originally enacted during the Civil War by the National Bank Act of 1863 (Currency Act) (12 Stat. 665), and was significantly amended by the National Bank Act of 1864 (13 Stat. 99). Congress enacted the original measure to assist the Government in paying Civil War debts, to provide for chartering banks by the Federal Government, and to provide a more uniform national currency (as bank notes) and safer banks based on their holding U.S. Government bonds. The 1864 legislation included major amendments, among them requiring that national banks be incorporated and initiating a system of examining national banks. Under the National Bank Act, the federal government, through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), charters and regulates national banks, granting them powers and subjecting them to federal supervision. 12 U.S.C. §§ 221-552. Originally enacted in 1913 and amended substantially since then, this legislation provides the authority for the Federal Reserve System—the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board), the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, and the Federal Open Market Committee. To prevent recurrence of another financial panic such as that of 1907, Congress designed "the Fed" to provide a better national payments system, including a national currency through its issuance of Federal Reserve notes. Another vital component of this payment system is the Federal Reserve's services to its member banks. These include clearing checks and other payments and lending to cash-short banks. The Board of Governors also exercises authority under various other federal laws, centralizing significant regulatory power over state banks that choose to join it as members, large financial conglomerates, and many international banking organizations operating on a nationwide basis. 12 U.S.C. §§ 1421-1449. Originally enacted in 1932, this legislation established the Federal Home Loan Bank System to provide federal support for home mortgage lending. The Federal Home Loan Bank System parallels, for thrift institutions, such as the early savings and loan or building and loan associations, the Federal Reserve System for commercial banks. The Home Owners' Loan Act expanded it in 1933 to authorize federally chartered thrift institutions. Originally, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board regulated the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks, and was the chartering authority for federal thrifts. In its capacity as head of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, the Bank Board provided a measure of federal regulation for state-chartered thrifts. Today, after the enactment of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) of 1989, and the abolition of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the system's 12 Federal Home Loan Banks are subject to the authority of the Federal Housing Finance Oversight Board. The Office of Thrift Supervision in the Department of the Treasury charters and regulates federally chartered thrifts and provides federal supervision for state-chartered thrifts. See Home Owner's Loan Act, Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act. 12 U.S.C. §§ 1461-1470. This legislation was the authority for the creation and regulation of federal savings and loan associations. Originally chartered by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board as mutually owned and managed institutions owned by their depositors, federal savings and loan associations were largely restricted to residential mortgage lending. Today's federal savings associations are chartered and regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision of the Department of the Treasury (OTS). 48 Stat. 162. This early legislation of President Roosevelt's New Deal included many amendments to the Federal Reserve Act and the National Bank Act including the creation of the Federal Open Market Committee, which regulates and coordinates the purchase and sale of securities by Federal Reserve Banks. Four sections of the Banking Act of 1933, §§ 26, 20, 21, and 32, are known as the Glass-Steagall Act. Collectively, they forced a separation between the banking and securities businesses. Other parts of the legislation allowed national banks to open branches under limited conditions and began federal deposit insurance for banks under § 12B of the Federal Reserve Act before the enactment of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Act in 1950. 12 U.S.C. §§ 1811-1832. Enacted in the Banking Act of 1933 as part of the Federal Reserve Act, Congress made this legislation a separate law in 1950, 64 Stat. 873. The legislation authorizes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to provide insurance for deposits held in state and national banks and branches of foreign banks in the United States. In enacting this legislation, the federal government took on the role of protecting depositors, banks, and the national money stock (and, thus, the economy) against losses from bank failures. Enactment of this legislation stopped the cascading string of bank failures of the Great Depression. Under this legislation, the FDIC is the primary federal regulator of federally insured state-chartered banks and, as such, has authority to examine and set safety and soundness standards for them and, to some extent, for federally chartered institutions. 15 U.S.C. §§ 77a-77aa. The Securities Act of 1933 has two objectives: (1) to provide investors with financial and other information concerning securities offered for public sale; and (2) to prohibit misrepresentation, deceit, and other fraudulent acts and practices in the sale of securities. The act provides for the registration of securities offered for sale in interstate commerce or through the mail and prohibits fraud in the sale of securities. It requires publicly traded companies to provide prospectus disclosures that permit investors and others to evaluate the worth of the stocks and bonds being sold. Its anti-fraud provisions apply to specified securities sold to the public even when the dealers that are offering them need not register them. Since 1934, the Securities Act of 1933 has been enforced by the Securities and Exchange Commission. 15 U.S.C. §§ 78a-78kk. This legislation created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to enforce the federal securities laws. With the enactment of this legislation, businesses and their financial operations became subject to federal disclosure standards, thus moving beyond state incorporation and investor protection standards. This act brought many securities markets under uniform federal regulation. It extended the registration and disclosure requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. Under the 1934 Act, every company with securities listed and registered for public sale on a national exchange and other companies meeting certain asset or number-of-shareholder criteria must file a registration application with the exchange and with the SEC. The legislation defines SEC's authority with respect to such matters as national exchanges, proxy solicitations, insider trading, margin trading, and registration of stock exchanges and broker-dealers in the over-the-counter market. It defines certain rules for corporate governance, including registration of securities listed on exchanges and publication of financial reports. 48 Stat.1246. This legislation created the Federal Housing Administration and established deposit insurance for savings and loan associations, through the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act abolished FSLIC in 1989 after widespread failures in the savings and loan industry. Currently, deposit insurance for savings and loan associations is provided through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 12 U.S.C. §§ 1751-1790. This legislation, originally enacted in 1934, provides a comprehensive system for the chartering and supervision of federal credit unions. Congress has transferred oversight of credit unions to various executive branch agencies over the years. Currently, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) regulates credit unions.