Federal Agencies Finalize Changes to Volcker Rule
On August 20, 2019, federal financial regulators responsible for implementing the Volcker Rule issued a final rule to revise a number of provisions of the Volcker Rule’s 2013 implementing regulations. The final rule, which is largely similar to the agencies’ proposed rulemaking issued in June 2018, generally seeks to clarify certain definitions, exemptions and compliance requirements under the 2013 Rule, and to tailor compliance requirements to be commensurate with a banking entity’s level of trading activity.
The final rule’s changes relate primarily to the Volcker Rule’s proprietary trading and compliance program requirements. While the agencies adopted certain limited changes to the Volcker Rule’s covered fund-related provisions, the agencies noted that they continue to consider other aspects of the covered fund provisions on which they sought comment in the 2018 proposal, and intend to issue a separate proposed rulemaking that specifically addresses those areas.