As the FDIC board and the OCC today formally proposed the interagency revisions to the Volcker Rule that were unveiled by the Federal Reserve yesterday, the banking agencies are no longer enforcing Volcker for banks and holding companies subject to the exemption under the recently enacted S. 2155 regulatory reform bill.
S. 2155 generally exempted banks with less than $10 billion in assets from Volcker Rule requirements, and the agencies noted in the proposed rule that they “plan to address these statutory amendments through a separate rulemaking process. . . . The amendments took effect upon enactment, however, and in the interim between enactment and the adoption of implementing regulations, the Agencies will not enforce the 2013 final rule in a manner inconsistent with [S. 2155].”
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are set to meet next week to approve the proposal. Comments will be accepted for 60 days after all five agencies adopt the proposal and publish it in the Federal Register. The American Bankers Association will comment on the proposal, as well as offer suggestions for additional Volcker Rule reforms not included in the proposal. For more information, contact ABA’s Tim Keehan.
