Which U.S. president closed the banks during the 1933 banking crisis?

Franklin D. Roosevelt closed the banks during the 1933 banking crisis.

After taking office on March 4, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a nationwide bank holiday beginning March 6. The closure temporarily halted withdrawals and gave federal officials time to inspect banks and restore confidence during the banking crisis of the Great Depression.

Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act on March 9. Banks that were judged sound reopened, while weaker institutions remained closed or were reorganized. Roosevelt explained the policy in his first fireside chat, helping persuade many Americans to return money to the banking system.

The bank holiday was a response to a banking panic, not a stock-exchange trading suspension like those associated with some market crashes. The Banking Act of 1933 later created federal deposit insurance and separated commercial banking from investment banking through the Glass–Steagall provisions.