The CFTC convened a meeting today during which the Commission’s proposal to implement the Dodd-Frank Act’s Volcker Rule (see FSM Report PROPTRADE5) was considered. The CFTC’s NPR is nearly identical to the one offered by the banking agencies and SEC, who released an October NPR (see FSM Report PROPTRADE9). However, Republican Commissioners Sommers and O’Malia suggested that the inter-agency proposal warrants reproposal, leading to a 3-2 CFTC vote to issue the NPR. Although comments on the prior inter-agency NPR are due shortly, the CFTC’s deadline will be sixty days after formal publication of the NPR, ensuring that no final rule is likely in the near term even if the requisite FSOC recommendations for implementation of the Volcker Rule (see FSM Report PROPTRADE7) are required for the final rule. A GAO study, due January 21, could lead to still further restrictions on already limited permitted activities. Regulators, including the CFTC, have requested additional guidance from Congress on implementing the Volcker Rule, and the FinServ Capital Markets Subcommittee has obliged by scheduling a hearing for January 18. This report analyzes today’s CFTC meeting.
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