In 1999, Congress passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, reorganizing the nation's banking and financial services industries for the first time since the Great Depression. This law allowed banks and financial services companies to offer consumers a greater range of services and to compete directly with one another in areas such as insurance, mutual funds, and securities. At the same time, however, Congress reaffirmed the 200-year old separation between commerce and finance by prohibiting financial institutions from owning or operating non-financial, commercial firms such as real estate brokerage or property management companies. Since the law's passage, the banking industry has attempted to have real estate brokerage and management redefined as being “financial in nature.” If this proposal is accepted, banks will leave themselves open to all sorts of conflicts of interest given the wide range of activities that they are now free to engage in under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Legislation co-sponsored by a majority of Representatives would reaffirm the commercial nature of real estate brokerage and management and would prevent the expansion of banks into these areas.

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