The Separation of Commercial and Investment Banking: Evidence on the Glass-Steagall Act's Passage and Continuation (Studies in Banking and International Finance)

Commercial and investment banking is legally separate in the U.S. and Japan, tends to be done seprately in the U.K. and Canada, and is conducted together in Germany and many other countries. After 1992 most restrictions limiting what a bank can do will be removed for the European Common Market countries, which will increase the pressure on the U.S. and Japan to change their laws. The U.S. law (the Glass - Steagall Act) ws passed in 1933 in response to the great Depression and failures of almost a third of U.S. banks. If commercial and investment banking were combined, might a similar debacle occur? What evidence is there that it ever happened? Werer conflicts of interests rife before 1933? What would happen if the restrictions were removed? Is universal banking really a better system? Indeed, if the Glass - Steagall Act was not based on fact and is not beneficial today, why was it enacted and why has it not been repealed?