A day after being approved by the FDIC, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to advance the proposed rule implementing the Volcker rule, mandated under Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said Wednesday that the Volcker rule's "implementation would be a step forward in reducing conflicts of interests between the self-interests of banking entities and the interests of their customers." The statute, she said, "is aimed at constraining banking entities' proprietary trading, protecting the provision of essential financial services and promoting the stability of the U.S. financial system."
In drafting the proposal, which Schapiro said was an "extensive undertaking," the SEC worked with the Fed, the FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and eventually the Commodity Futures Trading Commission "to ensure the rule will be applied consistently across institutions." Comments on the proposed rulemaking will be accepted until Jan. 13, 2012; the final rules are scheduled to be implemented by July 2012.
