Volcker Rule

Five federal agencies are soon expected to finalize long-delayed rules implementing one of Dodd-Frank’s most consequential provisions: Section 619, commonly known as the Volcker Rule. The Volcker Rule, named for former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, seeks to limit banks’ proprietary trading. Regulators have struggled to craft rules that will fulfill Dodd-Frank’s mandates while permitting certain trading activities that promote liquidity and allow institutions to manage their risks. The CFTC and ... Read on »

A bi-partisan group of Senators introduced a measure billed as a modern version of Depression-Era legislation commonly known as the Glass-Steagall Act. The proposal would bar institutions that offer traditional banking services from participating in investment banking and other risky activities. Read on to learn about the bill. Read on »

It’s been three years since the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law, and the U.S. Senate Banking Committee recently marked the milestone by examining regulators’ progress toward implementing the legislation’s financial stability provisions. Leaders from the federal banking agencies discussed recent efforts to strengthen institutions’ regulatory capital while remaining cognizant of the impact of these efforts on community institutions. Read on for the details. Read on »

Overhauling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s leadership structure, improving regulatory coordination and repealing the Volcker Rule are among the items included in a broad package of Dodd-Frank tweaks suggested by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Read on to learn about the chamber’s new “Fix, Add, Replace Agenda” for financial reform. Read on »

A recent government report outlined the reasons it’s taking regulators so long to implement the Dodd-Frank Act. The study by the Government Accountability Office also noted the efficacy of some of the financial reforms implemented to date remains unclear. Read on to learn the percentage of required Dodd-Frank regulations that have been finalized so far. Read on »

The leader of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said Congress may make substantive corrections to Dodd-Frank, but any such changes will likely have little impact on some forthcoming major rules. Curry recently told California bankers that regulators are “nearing the finish line” as they work to finalize two important rules. He also said OCC examiners are noticing some troubling trends. Read on for the details. Read on »

Republicans and industry participants took parting shots at Dodd-Frank’s ban on banks’ proprietary trading during the House Financial Services Committee’s final hearing before representatives headed home for their holiday break. Opponents of the Volcker Rule –– named after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker –– said Dodd-Frank’s provisions could ultimately harm financial markets, businesses, investors and job creation. Read on »

The American Bankers Association urged regulators working to implement Dodd-Frank’s Volcker Rule to issue a compliance roadmap for community institutions and give institutions at least two years to conform their operations to the final rule. The ABA’s request came after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the agencies hope to finalize a rule in early 2013. Read on »

The Republican leaders of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee asked regulators working to implement Dodd-Frank’s ban on banks’ proprietary trading, commonly known as the Volcker Rule, to issue one final rule as opposed to multiple rules. They also called on the agencies to give industry participants two years to comply with the rule’s requirements once they are finalized. Read on »

One of the industry associations responding to a call for potential legislative alternatives to Dodd-Frank’s Volcker Rule isn’t mincing any words. The American Bankers Association said the provision’s complete repeal is the only way to avoid harming the banking industry, consumers and the economy. Read on to learn how the ABA and other industry participants said policymakers could better approach the issues the Volcker Rule was intended to address. Read on »