Urges President and Congress to enact legislation reinstating the separation between commercial and investment banking.

SR68

SENATE RESOLUTION No. 68

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� SHIRLEY K. TURNER

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

SYNOPSIS

���� Urges President and Congress to enact legislation
reinstating the separation between commercial and investment banking.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A Senate
Resolution

urging the President and
Congress of the United States to enact legislation reinstating the separation
between commercial and investment banking.

Whereas,

The United States Congress enacted section 20 of the �Banking Act of 1933,�
Pub.L. 73-66 (12 U.S.C. s.377 et seq.) (commonly referred to as the
�Glass-Steagall Act�) in order to eliminate the speculative activities which
caused the collapse of the banking system during the Great Depression; and

Whereas,

The �Glass-Steagall Act� curbed speculative activities by erecting a firewall
between commercial and investment banking; and

Whereas,

Following the repeal of the �Glass-Steagall Act� in 1999, commercial banks were
permitted to merge with investment firms, insurance companies, mortgage
companies, and other financial services firms to form vast conglomerates; and

Whereas,

Some of the newly formed financial conglomerates began engaging in
irresponsible financial practices and speculative activities which brought them
to the brink of failure and contributed to the collapse of the housing market;
and

Whereas,

The collapse of the housing market helped trigger the worst recession since the
Great Depression, which cost millions of jobs and hundreds of billions of
taxpayer dollars to bailout financial conglomerates considered too big to fail;
and

Whereas,

Congress enacted the �Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,�
Pub.L. 111-203, in 2010, in response to the speculative activities and
irresponsible financial practices which drove the economy into recession; and

Whereas,

Although the purpose of the �Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act� was to address the root causes of the recession, the law does
little to separate commercial and investment banking; and

Whereas,

The �Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2023,� H.R.2714, would revive
the separation between commercial banking and investment banking by imposing
restrictions on affiliations between commercial banks and securities firms, and
in a manner similar to that formerly provided in the �Glass-Steagall Act;� and

Whereas,

Resolutions urging the President and U.S. Congress to enact a law similar to
the �Glass-Steagall Act� have been introduced in at least 25 state legislatures
and have been passed in at least four states; and

Whereas,

The reinstatement of the separation between commercial banking and investment
banking is necessary to strengthen our financial system and to put an end to
the irresponsible financial practices and speculative activities that led to
the collapse of the housing market and the subsequent recession; now,
therefore,

���� Be
It Resolved
by the Senate of the State of New
Jersey:

����
1.��� This House respectfully urges the
President
and Congress of the United States
to
enact legislation reinstating the
separation between commercial and investment banking functions that existed
under the �Glass-Steagall Act.�

���� 2.��� Copies of this resolution, as filed with
the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to
the President of the United States and to each member of the United States
Congress.

STATEMENT

���� This
resolution urges the
President and Congress of the United
States
to
enact
legislation reinstating the separation between commercial and investment
banking functions that existed under the �Glass-Steagall Act.�

���� The �Glass-Steagall Act� was
enacted in 1933 to eliminate the speculative activities which caused the
collapse of the banking system during the Great Depression.� The
�Glass-Steagall Act� curbed speculative activities by erecting a firewall
between commercial and investment banking.

���� Following the repeal of the
�Glass-Steagall Act� in 1999, commercial banks merged with investment firms and
other financial firms to form vast conglomerates.� The newly formed financial
conglomerates began engaging in irresponsible financial practices and
speculative activities which contributed to the collapse of the housing market
and in turn led to the worst recession since the Great Depression.

���� Congress enacted the
�Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act� in 2010, to address
the root causes of the recession.� However, the �Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act� does little to separate commercial and investment
banking.

���� The federal �Return to Prudent
Banking Act of 2023,� if enacted, would revive the separation between
commercial banking and investment banking by imposing restrictions on
affiliations between commercial banks and securities firms in a manner similar
to that formerly provided in the �Glass-Steagall Act.�� The reinstatement of
the separation between commercial banking and investment banking is necessary
to strengthen our financial system and to put an end to the irresponsible
financial practices and speculative activities that led to the collapse of the
housing market and the subsequent recession.

�