Volcker Rule Seeks to Regulate Financial Markets

A draft of President Barack Obama’s financial reform legislation has been sent to Congress.  Dubbed the Volcker Rule in honor of the former Federal Reserve chairman’s  aggressive pursuit of these regulations, the five-page proposal will ban proprietary trading and mergers that give banks more than a 10 percent market share as measured by liabilities that are not insured deposits.  Passage of the bill would bar banks from owning or investing in private equity firms and hedge funds.

The rule, designed to reduce the possibility of another financial crisis, exempts mergers that exceed the market-share limit in instances where a firm takes over a failing bank so long as regulators approve.  Also exempted are trading in Treasury and agency securities, including debt issued by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The legislation, which has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats, would reduce banks’ ability to take risks.  It is a reaction to the more than $1.7 trillion in writedowns and credit losses that followed the subprime mortgage meltdown in late 2007.  Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, prefers a five-year transition period rather than the two years suggested in the president’s proposal.

Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York says the exemptions may help avoid market disruptions that could impact small investors.  “The market is made up of many unseen hands with different objectives and investment horizons, and if you pull out the speculators making short-term bets, like prop trading banks, then” the individual investor is “going to be the one who suffers.”