Demarking of Wall Street
About Demarking of Wall Street
The Pecora Commission, led by Ferdinand Pecora, investigated Wall Street practices after the 1929 crash. The hearings revealed widespread fraud, self dealing, and market manipulation by leading bankers including J.P. Morgan and Charles Mitchell of National City Bank. The revelations were sensational: bankers had paid no income tax, given preferential stock to politicians, and pushed bad investments on retail customers. The Pecora hearings directly led to the Glass-Steagall Act, the Securities Act of 1933, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Pecora, a former prosecutor, humiliated Wall Street titans in public testimony. The commission established the template for future financial investigations.
Related Events
Big Bang 1986
The Big Bang of October 27, 1986 deregulated the London Stock Exchange. It eliminated fixed commissi...
Panic of 1819
The first major peacetime financial crisis in United States history. The panic followed the War of 1...
Panic of 1837
A financial crisis that touched off a major recession lasting until 1842. The panic was triggered by...
Panic of 1893
A severe economic depression triggered by the failure of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and t...