In the United States before the mid-1930s, there used to be something called "double liability" where the equity shareholders of a bank could be assessed up to

In the United States before the mid-1930s, there used to be something called "double liability" where the equity shareholders of a bank could be assessed up to the par value of their stock holdings if the bank failed and needed money to pay depositors. I've always been curious but have never looked into the history of why it was ended at that particular time. Best guess is just that they were desperate to do anything to make it easier for banks to lend money in the 1930s. Or maybe the usefulness of the assessment was called into question when banks failed right after the horrendous liquidation of the Great Depression, and none of the bank shareholders had much of any real assets to assess.