Should Glass-Steagall Be Reinstated?

Abstract

This paper will focus on the difference between commercial and investment banking and the efforts to reinstate the Glass-Steagall act. Many believe the repeal of Glass-Steagall was the primary cause of the Global Financial Crisis.

This paper argues that the Glass-Steagall act was not is not a universal Band-Aid for the United States banking system, and that other regulative actions need to be taken beyond the separating of commercial and investment banks.

Regulative methods include: ring-fencing, capital and liquidity requirements, stricter oversight of credit ratings agencies and more.