Over the period, various market developments along with few key legislative changes, such as repealing of the Glass Steagall Act, 1933 (which rolled back the restrictions imposed on banks for mixing their business with securities and investment banks) in the late nineties, fostered new financial structures and strategic alliances that removed the distinction between activities specific to various types of financial institutions.
J.P. Morgan marshaled immense power on Wall Street in large part because his reputation for fulfilling his promises was legendary. Today, most banks rely partly on deposit insurance in lieu of reputation to hold below-market-rate deposits.