US Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) proposed reinstating the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act that split commercial and investment banking to rein in Wall Street firms in response to the financial crisis.

McCain and Cantwell join other lawmakers in Congress proposing to reinstate the 1933 law, repealed a decade ago by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that led to a rise in conglomerates including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America active in retail banking, insurance and proprietary trading. Legislation to reinstate the ban was introduced yesterday in the House.

Under the Senate legislation, financial firms operating commercial banks and investment houses will have to decide whether to focus on commercial banking or investment banking. It would ban commercial banks from engaging in insurance activities. Cantwell said the companies would get a year from enactment to comply with the law.