1975 to 2000
Investigations and deregulation
The Church Committee, the secret surveillance court, Iran-Contra and its pardons, Waco, and the repeal of Glass-Steagall.
Key facts
- The Church Committee found 500,000 FBI files on Americans. Congress was asked for a law against assassination and did not pass one.
- In 1978 Congress created a secret court for surveillance warrants. It hears only the government.
- Glass-Steagall was repealed in 1999. In 2000 swaps were exempted from regulation.
Timeline
6 events in Wall Street & Banking, oldest first
- 1978December 18, 1978Wall Street & Banking
Marquette: a bank's home state sets the interest rate for every customer
State usury laws stop protecting residents from out of state lenders.
- 19811980 to 1981Wall Street & Banking
South Dakota passes Citibank's bill in a day; Citibank moves to Sioux Falls
Delaware follows the next year with Chase, Manufacturers Hanover, and Chemical.
- August 5, 1981Wall Street & Banking
11,345 air traffic controllers fired
Major strikes fall from 145 that year to 30 in 2025.
- 1996June 3, 1996Wall Street & Banking
Smiley v. Citibank: late fees are interest
Fees follow the bank's home state law.
- 1999November 12, 1999Wall Street & Banking
Gramm-Leach-Bliley signed, repealing the separation of banking and securities
Passed the Senate 90 to 8 and the House 362 to 57 a year after Citicorp and Travelers merged in anticipation of it.
- 2000December 21, 2000Wall Street & Banking
Commodity Futures Modernization Act signed, exempting swaps from regulation
Its 262 pages were attached to the year end spending bill and passed both houses in a day without debate on the derivatives provisions.
Stories (4)
- 1978 to 2026How Supreme Court Rulings Ended State Usury Caps and Enabled 22% Credit Card InterestIn 1978 the Supreme Court ruled that a national bank could charge every customer in the country the interest rate of the state where the bank sat. In 1980 South Dakota repealed its cap in a day at Citibank's request, and the bank moved its card operation there. In 1996 the court said late fees count as interest too. The average rate on a credit card carrying a balance was 22.15 percent in the second quarter of 2026, and households owed $18.8 trillion. In 2025 the government's consumer agency joined the banks in asking a judge to throw out its own cap on late fees.Wall Street & Banking
- 1979 to 2026Why Worker Pay Stopped Tracking Productivity After 1979 While CEO Pay Rose 1,000%From the end of 1979 to the start of 2026 the output of an hour of American work rose 93.2 percent and the pay of the typical worker for that hour rose 33.7 percent, by the Economic Policy Institute's count from government data. Chief executives of the largest companies were paid 21 times a typical worker in 1965 and 281 times in 2024. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since July 24, 2009, and prices have risen 55 percent since. One worker in ten belongs to a union, down from one in five in 1983.Wall Street & Banking
- November 12, 1999The 1999 Repeal of Glass-Steagall (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act)For 66 years the Glass-Steagall Act kept the bank that held your deposits separate from the firm that traded securities. In November 1999 Congress repealed that separation by votes of 90 to 8 and 362 to 57, a year after Citicorp and Travelers had merged in anticipation of it. Nine years later the combined banks were too big to fail.Wall Street & Banking
- December 21, 2000The 2000 Commodity Futures Modernization Act That Deregulated Credit Default SwapsIn 1998 the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed regulating the private derivatives market. The Treasury secretary, the Fed chairman, and the SEC chairman moved to stop her. In December 2000 Congress attached the Commodity Futures Modernization Act to an 11,000 page spending bill and passed it in a day. It exempted swaps from regulation, and eight years later the swaps took down AIG.Wall Street & Banking