Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Banking Act during the banking crisis that accompanied the 1933 stock-market collapse.
Roosevelt became president on March 4, 1933, during a nationwide banking emergency. Many banks had closed or suspended operations as depositors demanded cash and confidence in the financial system deteriorated. Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act, and Roosevelt signed it on March 9.
The law allowed the federal government to inspect banks, reopen financially sound institutions, and reorganize or close those judged unsafe. Roosevelt then used a series of radio addresses, including his first fireside chat, to explain the banking measures and encourage people to redeposit money.
The 1933 market decline is often discussed alongside the 1929 Wall Street Crash, but it was a later phase of the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover was president during the 1929 crash; Roosevelt was the president associated with the 1933 banking emergency and recovery response.