Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Banking Act in March 1933 after a banking panic shook U.S. financial markets.
Roosevelt took office on March 4, 1933, when widespread withdrawals had forced many banks to close. He proclaimed a national bank holiday, temporarily suspending banking operations while federal officials examined institutions and prepared a reopening plan. Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act on March 9, and Roosevelt signed it the same day.
The law expanded federal control over banking and allowed sound banks to reopen under Treasury supervision. Roosevelt then used radio broadcasts, known as fireside chats, to explain the measures and encourage Americans to return cash to banks. The act addressed a banking crisis rather than directly ending the 1929 stock-market crash. The distinction matters: the stock-market collapse began years earlier, while the 1933 panic was a later financial emergency during the Great Depression.