![<p>The First National Bank Building First National Bank Building, also known as the Old Monroe County Savings Bank Building (Image <a>LC-DIG-highsm-52790</a> via Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)</p>](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/supervision-regulation_720x450.jpg)
The Federal Reserve promotes the safety and soundness of financial institutions like banks and monitors their impact on the financial system as a whole.
![President Obama Signs the Dodd-Frank Act](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/dodd_frank_act_1.jpg)
Dodd-Frank Act
This wide-ranging legislation was signed by President Obama in 2010
![A sign advertising refinancing services is posted in a vacant lot April 29, 2008, in Stockton, California.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/subprime_mortgage_crisis_720x450.jpg)
Subprime Mortgage Crisis
The 2007-10 crisis stemmed in part from an expansion of mortgages to high-risk borrowers
![Jim Leach, R-Iowa, Phil Gramm, R-Texas, and Thomas J. Bliley Jr., R-Va., during a press conference on their compromise bill.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/gramm_leach_bliley_1.jpg)
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
The 1999 Act promoted financial integration by repealing parts of the Glass-Steagall Act while giving the Fed new supervisory powers
![President Clinton signs the Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 as Senate Banking Committee Chairman Don Riegle and Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentson look on.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/riegle_neal_act_720x450.jpg)
Riegle-Neal Act
The 1994 law removed many of the restrictions on bank branching across state lines
![The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Building in Washington, D.C.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/fdicia_720x450.jpg)
FDICIA
The 1991 Act was intended to address problems in the banking and thrift industries
![Continental Illinois bank building](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/failure_continental_illinois_720x450.jpg)
Continental Illinois: A Bank That Was Too Big to Fail
The phrase “too big to fail” became commonly used for the first time after Continental’s crisis
![President Ronald Reagan signs the Garn-St. Germain Act in the White House Rose Garden surrounded by administration officials and members of Congress.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/garn_st_germain_act_720x450.jpg)
Garn-St Germain Act
The 1982 Act aimed to ease pressures on depository institutions as the Fed acted to curb inflation
![Demonstrators in Mexico City march in protest of the International Monetary Fund and the Mexican government, 1986](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/latin_american_debt_crisis_720x450.jpg)
Latin American Debt Crisis
During the 1980s, many Latin American countries were unable to service their foreign debt
![May 13, 1985: Depositors line up to withdraw money from a Baltimore bank following the court order that limited depositors' cash withdrawals until a purchaser was found for the troubled savings and loan.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/savings_and_loan_crisis_1_720x450.jpg)
Savings and Loan Crisis
The 1980s was a period of distress for the financial sector, especially savings and loans
![An advertisement for Chase National Bank featuring its capital position. (Source: <a href="https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/105/item/598442">Rand McNally Bankers Director, 1927</a>.)](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/bankcapital_720x450.png)
Bank Capital Standards
A key goal of bank supervision and regulation has been to ensure that banks maintain sufficient capital.
![Dwight D. Eisenhower Speaking to the Press](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/bank_holding_company_act_720x450.jpg)
Bank Holding Company Act
In 1956, Congress gave the Fed increased oversight of the banking industry
![The Honorable Louis McFadden](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/mcfadden_act_1_720x450.jpg)
McFadden Act
The Fed’s success led to this legislation in 1927, which rechartered the Federal Reserve Banks in perpetuity among other items