The five regulatory agencies charged with implementing the Volcker Rule, a provision of Wall Street Reform, today approved a final rule.  Treasury, which had a statutory role to coordinate the rulemaking, applauded the regulators' work.

 

Secretary Lew said:

With today's approval of the Volcker Rule, regulators have taken a critical step toward completing implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Volcker Rule will change behavior and practices in our financial markets to safeguard taxpayers from risks created by banks' proprietary trading and investments in hedge funds and private equity funds. 

President Obama initially proposed the Volcker Rule to put an end to banks' ability to engage in high-risk activities solely for their own benefit, while enjoying the advantages conveyed by deposit insurance and other government protections. After a process that engaged five financial regulators and a broad array of constituencies, the final rule stays true to the President's vision by setting tough but workable restrictions, while continuing to allow banks to perform essential market functions. I applaud the regulators' intensive work to arrive at a single rule that is clear and consistent. 

Our work on financial regulatory reform, based on lessons from the worst financial crisis in recent history, is an ongoing exercise in remaining vigilant against market behavior that threatens the stability of our financial system. Nevertheless, completion of this rule is an important milestone.

For information on the final rule, see the following:
Final Volcker Rule 
Volcker Rule Fact Sheet
The Volcker Rule and Community Bank Applicability

Suzanne Elio is a Spokesperson for Domestic Finance at the U.S. Department of the Treasury​