The banking industry viewed that as an oversight; the securities industry viewed it as a purposeful exclusion. This debate went unresolved until 1999, when the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act specifically authorized revenue bond underwriting by banks. In contrast to the relative peace between banks and securities firms, the competition for deposits between banks and thrifts was quite strong and intensified with the imposition of Regulation Q.
Not only did Regulation Q establish ceilings on interest rates for both passbook savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs), the regulation gave thrifts an interest rate advantage of initially 50, then 25, basis points for each of their interest-bearing products. The intense marketplace competition between banks and thrifts was matched by the level of competition in the halls of Congress.