Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the 1933 law that created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation after the 1929 crash.
The Banking Act of 1933 established the FDIC, which began temporary deposit insurance in January 1934. Its purpose was to protect eligible bank deposits and restore public confidence after thousands of American banks had failed during the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt had become president in March 1933 and made banking reform a central part of his New Deal program.
The FDIC did not prevent the 1929 stock-market crash, and it was not created immediately after Black Tuesday. It was a later response to the broader banking crisis, in which depositors often lost savings when banks closed. Deposit insurance reduced the incentive for ordinary customers to withdraw funds simultaneously during a panic.
The act also separated commercial and investment banking through provisions commonly associated with the Glass–Steagall Act. A frequent mix-up is to credit Herbert Hoover, who was president when the crash began. Hoover did not sign the 1933 banking legislation; Roosevelt did, after taking office.