He was referring to the 1933 act of Congress that separates commercial banking from investment banking in this country.

Their investment banks were an artifact of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which had separated banking and commerce.

First, the Government will separate retail and investment banking through a ring fence.

- It did not replace and strengthen Glass-Steagall, separating commercial banking from investing or speculation.

The decision breaks down part of the wall that has separated banking and the securities business since 1933 - the Glass-Steagall Act.

The legislation includes what its supporters say are thick "fire walls" that would separate banking from other businesses under the same ownership.

Banks are now under siege from a host of new competitors as the borders that once separated traditional banking from more exotic financial services continue to dissolve.

And guess what else Japan has - laws separating banking from commerce.

The issue was whether one of the nation's most basic banking laws that separates banking from securities underwriting should be breached.

The law has separated commercial banking from investment banking for more than 50 years.