FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Contact: Nick Jacobs, 202-618-6430 or njacobs@bettermarkets.com
Washington, D.C. – Following the announcement from the five Federal financial agencies responsible for oversight and enforcement of the Volcker Rule that they were extending the deadline for comments on proposed changes to the rule, Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, issued this statement:
“We are pleased that the federal banking regulators granted our request to provide the public with more time to comment on their proposed changes to the Volcker Rule ban on speculative proprietary trading. That 2010 Dodd Frank prohibition stopped Wall Street’s biggest banks from betting with taxpayer backed deposits and limited their subsidized unfair competition. The Volcker Rule was one of the most important financial reforms to be enacted in the ashes of the 2008 crash, not only because of those limitations, but also because it curbed the gambling culture that had infected too much of the banking industry.
“The 2018 proposed changes to the Volcker Rule are very substantial, running 689 pages and containing 342 specific questions on technical concepts and provisions. Yet, the regulators initially provided a mere 60 days for comments to be filed. While that’s plenty of time for Wall Street’s unlimited resources and its army of lobbyists, it was grossly inadequate for the public and public interest groups.
“Better Markets, joined by Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform, and the Center for American Progress, therefore requested an extension to the comment period to provide the public with a more meaningful opportunity to analyze, evaluate and respond to this very consequential proposal.
“While still insufficient, the extension is essential given that it was only ten years ago that the American people paid a catastrophic price for Wall Street’s reckless, bonus-driven speculation and trading. That is what the Volcker Rule was directly aimed at and the financial regulators must get the proposed changes to the Volcker Rule right or it will be those same American families who will once again end up paying the price to bailout the biggest banks.”
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies – including many in finance – to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.com.
