Senate panel mulls watered down "Volcker rule"

WASHINGTON | Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:26pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Banking Committee members are considering a watered down version of the 'Volcker rule' unveiled last month by the Obama administration to curb risk-taking by banks, sources familiar with the panel's thinking said on Thursday.

Committee members are leaning against a strict ban on banks' proprietary trading and are considering requiring regulators to strengthen supervision of banks that are involved in such activities, said the sources, who requested anonymity because the proposal has not been made public.

The administration stunned markets in January with a three-part proposal, inspired by White House economic adviser and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, to limit banks' proprietary trading, get them out of the hedge fund and private equity businesses and cap their future growth.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by James Dalgleish)
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (3)
tanstaafl10 wrote:
When all is said and done, more will be said than done – the Volcker rule is DOA – I think your own James Pethokoukis got it right with his analysis @ http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/2010/02/16/the-volcker-rule-its-not-happening/

Feb 18, 2010 5:53pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Gorm wrote:
Volcher is right on!!
Immediately revoke the commercial banking charter of GS and MS.
Immediately force the top financials to choose either an investment bank or commercial bank charter.
Immediately bust up these financial behemoths. They pose too great a risk to our economy – given their meager benefit. Even from a shareholder position, they afford more value busted up than whole.
40% of US deposits are concentrated in the top 5 financials -FAR TOO GREAT a concentration, far too great a risk.
Bust them up NOW!!

Feb 18, 2010 6:23pm EST  --  Report as abuse
FAntunez wrote:
Remember: we due to Volcker the 1982 big recession, perhaps worth than this one.

Feb 19, 2010 4:49am EST  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.
See All Comments »