Which U.S. agency was created in 1934 after the Wall Street Crash to regulate securities markets?

The Securities and Exchange Commission was created in 1934 after the Wall Street Crash to regulate U.S. securities markets.

Congress established the SEC through the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The agency was designed to restore confidence after the 1929 crash and the scandals and abuses associated with the preceding securities boom. Its responsibilities included overseeing stock exchanges, enforcing federal securities laws, and requiring important financial information from public companies.

The SEC followed the Securities Act of 1933, which focused mainly on the initial offering of securities. The 1934 law addressed trading in existing securities and created a permanent federal regulator. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. became the SEC's first chairman, despite having been a prominent Wall Street operator before his government service.

The SEC is sometimes confused with the FDIC, created in 1933 to insure bank deposits. They addressed different problems: the SEC supervises securities markets, while the FDIC protects eligible depositors when insured banks fail.