A Brief History of the Death of Glass-Steagall

1933
LAW - Glass-Steagall Act prohibits banks from underwriting stocks and bonds.
1986
LAW - Banks may underwrite 5% of gross revenues
FED - Greenspan becomes Fed chair
1987
LAW - Banks may underwrite 10% of gross revenues
1996
LAW - Banks may underwrite 25% of gross revenues
1999
LAW - Glass-Steagall repealed
FED - "Risk of underwriting had proven to be manageable.  Banks now have the right to acquire securities firms outright."
BANKS - Quantitative Analysts conclude reliable US housing market pricing uptrend
BANKS - Mortgage underwriting standards loosened, demand increases, mortgages securitized, sliced up and sold worldwide, with AAA ratings from ratings agencies paid by security issuers.
2001
ECONOMY - Dot com bubble bursts.  Speculative investors out of stock market.  Recession.  Speculative investors into housing market.
2006
FED - Bernanke becomes Fed chair
2007
ECONOMY  - Housing bubble bursts.
2008
ECONOMY - Most serious recession since Great Depression
FED - Ex-Chairman Greenspan concedes that it was a "mistake believing banks, operating in their own self-interest, would do what was necessary to protect their shareholders and institutions."
2009
FED - Short term rates set at zero to stimulate growth.
FED - Quantitative Easing ("QE") I & II, during which the Fed bought mortgage backed securities then short term Treasuries to lower rates and stimulate economy.
2010
FED - Short term interest rate policy set for a minimum of two years.
2011
FED - Operation Twist, where Fed exchanged short term Treasuries for long term Treasuries to lower long term rates and stimulate housing.