Which U.S. law created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation during the Great Depression?

The Banking Act of 1933 created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) during the Great Depression. The law was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 16, 1933, after thousands of American banks had failed.

Its best-known provisions separated commercial banking from investment banking through the Glass–Steagall provisions and established federal deposit insurance. Deposit insurance was intended to reduce bank runs by assuring customers that eligible deposits would be protected if an insured bank failed.

The FDIC began permanent deposit-insurance operations in 1934. The original coverage limit was $2,500 per depositor, later increased several times. A common mix-up is treating the Glass–Steagall Act as a separate 1933 statute; the separation rules were part of the Banking Act of 1933.

The act addressed financial instability directly, while broader New Deal measures targeted employment, farm incomes, industrial production, and social welfare.