A large contributer to the financial crisis of 2007/8 was caused by the ability of deposit taking institutions to take part in Investment Banking activities. The Glass Steagall Act ("The Act" ) prevented the combination of these activities and was originlly put in place as a result of the Market Crash of 1929. However, The Act was revoked in 1999.
The Act should be reinstated.
We can point to two large consequences of repealing The Act that contributed to the financial crisis of 2007/8.
First, it gave Investment Bankers and traders acces to a new source of cheap funding: deposits. This allowed traders and bankers to increase balance sheet with little cost. Second it made these financial institutions to complex to understand.
We need to reinstate The Act and focus on HR1489