ABSTRACT
Between the late 1930s and the mid 1950s, financial institutions in the United States began to rebuild and return to prosperity under the new depositor insurance programs established by Congress in the 1930s. With the return to profitability, financial institutions grew and once again attempted to diversify and expand into various related financial areas. The early 1970s saw the dawning of a new era in financial regulation and a shifting of prior trends: consumer awareness became fashionable. Naturally, hindsight is 20/20; however, in the early 1970s, one might have imagined that the ultimate result of increased consumer awareness would be the awakening of the small saver, with a commensurate demand for a fair rate of return on his or her savings. By 1980, regulated financial institutions, federal regulators, and Congress realized that some remedial action had to be taken immediately to avert the adverse consequences that were about to befall the regulated financial industry.
