Five Regulators Move Volcker Rule Deadline to Oct. 17 Securities industry participants will get more time to weigh in on the very controversial Dodd-Frank Era “Volcker Rule,” which in its initial form prohibits proprietary trading and banks from owning hedge funds or private equity funds. Five federal financial regulatory agencies have agreed to extend until… Read More >>
The Fed’s Quiet Move to Avoid Widespread Panic
Amid all the endless claptrap about interest rates, the Federal Reserve Board quietly this week proposed a rule that might help global markets sidestep widespread panic if a very large institution goes bankrupt and has lots of bilateral derivatives contracts on its books. The proposed rule would delay the immediate cancellation of qualified financial contracts… Read More >>
Could Poor Op Risk Management Spur Another Financial Crisis?
Poor operational risk management related to the origination and securitization of mortgages played a large but often overlooked role in the Great Recession. Now, eight years on, industry observers are split over whether the financial services industry has learned its lessons on the pitfalls of neglecting Op Risk. Linda Allen, a finance professor at Baruch… Read More >>
Medium-Sized Firms Get Stress Tests Too: Regulators
In case they have forgotten, medium-sized securities firms with total consolidated assets between $10 billion and $50 billion have been reminded by regulators about the disclosure requirements for the annual stress tests that they are required to conduct. “These medium-sized companies are required to conduct annual, company-run stress tests implementing a provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall… Read More >>
Regulatory & Investor Demands Spur New Respect for Risk Ops
Risk management operations is finally coming into its own as post-Great Recession regulatory and investor pressures begin to bear down on buy- and sell-side firms in the U.S. and the European Union. On the sell side, big banks in the U.S. and the EU are being forced to take action by the crack of the… Read More >>
OCC Orders Banks to Stop ‘Excessive Risk’
Board members of financial services firms are being told to take a more active role in pushing compliance with “safe and sound” banking practices and to oppose management proposals with “excessive risk taking,” according to the final guidelines on governance and risk management practices published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)…. Read More >>
Is the Volcker Rule Worth $4.3 Billion?
In its latest analysis, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency estimates that the cost of the Volcker Rule for financial services firms will range widely from $413 million to $4.3 billion. In return, the industry may get a Holy Grail of transparency via “required metrics reporting, reduced conflicts of interests, improved safety and… Read More >>
SEC Adopts Volcker Rule
The SEC has adopted a final version of the Volcker Rule in a 3-to-2 vote that is a milestone for regulatory reform on Wall Street.SEC Commissioners Daniel M. Gallagher and Michael S Piwowar voted against adoption of the restrictions upon banks and proprietary trading. SEC Chair Mary Jo White and SEC Commissioners Luis A. Aguilar… Read More >>
SEC to Take on the Volcker Rule
The SEC will be joining a hallelujah chorus of sorts as the CFTC, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are expected to vote on the Volcker Rule on Tuesday.Clarifying media speculation, the SEC will be taking up the Volcker Rule on Tuesday, Dec. 10,… Read More >>
