Clinton Signs Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Formally Repealing Glass-Steagall

President Bill Clinton signs the Financial Services Modernization Act (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act), formally repealing key provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act after two decades of systematic erosion. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Phil Gramm, Representative Jim Leach, and Representative Thomas Bliley, passes with overwhelming bipartisan support (90-8 in Senate, 362-57 in House), legitimizing the regulatory violations already approved by the Federal Reserve. Clinton declares ’the Glass-Steagall law is no longer appropriate,’ completing the banking industry’s capture campaign that began in the 1980s and creating the deregulated financial system that contributes to the 2008 financial crisis.