The Jan. 30 decision by five federal agencies to propose changes to the Volcker rule that would allow banks, in certain circumstances, to invest in or sponsor hedge funds or private equity funds prompted some immediate opposition, even from some in leadership positions at the agencies themselves.
“We continue the march toward effective repeal of the Volcker rule,” maintained SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee, voicing her opposition to the proposed changes. The revision “ignores … risk-reducing public policy” and “is driven by complaints from the very banks the rule is intended to make safer,” asserted CFTC Commissioner Dan Berkovitz in a dissenting statement. House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) accused regulators of “working overtime to weaken a regulation” that will allow “banks to gamble with taxpayer money.”
