Which U.S. president signed the Emergency Banking Act after the 1933 banking crisis?

Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Banking Act after the U.S. banking crisis of 1933.

The law was enacted on March 9, 1933, shortly after Roosevelt took office and declared a national bank holiday. It allowed the federal government to inspect banks, close insolvent institutions, and permit financially sound banks to reopen under new rules.

The measure addressed a banking panic that had spread after years of economic contraction. Depositors had been withdrawing cash because they feared banks would fail, and banks had responded by restricting withdrawals or closing. The act aimed to restore confidence in the financial system rather than directly reverse the stock-market losses of 1929.

Roosevelt’s first fireside chat, on March 12, explained the reopening process to the public. The episode is sometimes confused with the later creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, established under the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. Both measures strengthened confidence, but they were separate reforms.