The problem that required immediate attention was the banking crisis. Since the stock market crash, thousands of U.S. banks had failed. The entire banking system was on the verge of collapse. Before the Glass-Steagall Banking Act in 1933, there was no such thing as federal deposit insurance. When a bank failed, it took the life savings of thousands of Americans with it. This uncertainty incited panic in depositors, who rushed to their banks after the crash to pull all their money out and hoard it. But mass withdrawals were impossible to grant because banks did not keep all of their depositors' money in a vault. Each branch only kept enough money to accommodate the daily needs of the average customer. The rest of the money was invested in loans to other depositors, bonds, and outside investments. The profit was returned in part to depositors in the...