In December 2014, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank granted
banks an extra year past the July 2015 deadline to comply with a major provision of the
Volcker Rule requiring the banks to unwind investments in private equity firms,
hedge funds, and specialty securities projects.[1]
The Fed also announced that it would give the banks yet another year to hold
onto their positions. The Fed’s rationale points to an underlying conflict of
interest facing the Fed, a banking regulator that is arguably too vulnerable to the banks’ lobbying muscle.
The full essay is at “Risky
Trades”
1. Zach Carter, “Fed
Delays Volcker Rule, Giving Wall Street Another Holiday Gift,” The
Huffington Post, December 18, 2014.