House Democrats ask for tougher Volcker rule – Dave Clarke (Reuters)

“A group of House Democrats are asking regulators to start over with a proposed ban on proprietary trading by banks, arguing the current proposal has too many loopholes. … At a November 9 event on the rule, however, Volcker’s top aide, Tony Dowd, said…‘[f]rom Mr. Volcker’s standpoint I think he is hanging his hat on the strong wording of the general prohibition on prop trading and the accountability for senior management and boards of directors to implement the policy,’ he said at an event hosted by Americans for Financial Reform, which supports the Volcker rule.”

Volcker conflict-of-interest rule too weak: Levin – Dave Clarke (Reuters)

“U.S. regulators are not going far enough with the Volcker rule to prevent large banks from betting against their clients’ interests, Senator Carl Levin said on Wednesday. …Levin found fault with language that allows banks to take positions that may conflict with their clients…‘That’s not nearly tough enough for me,’ Levin said at an event examining the Volcker rule that was hosted by Americans for Financial Reform…”

Need-To-Know Memo – National Journal

Financial reform advocates are up in arms over the House-Senate conference ‘minibus’ appropriations bill that would slash roughly one-third of what President Obama requested to fund the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for 2012 to $205.3 million, raising questions about how it will be able to enforce new financial regulations. ‘This leaves the agency without the funding it needs to do its job and will make it impossible to implement key aspects of financial reform,’ said Lisa Donner, the executive director for Americans for Financial Reform, in a press release.

Click here to view this week’s highlights and lowlights in Wall Street Reform – November 11, 2011 – November 18, 2011.
Note: TWiWSR will not be compiled next week – see you December 2nd.

AFR along with NCLC and other allies submitted a comment to the Department of Treasury on finanical inclusion.

“I want to draw attention to one of the biggest financial issues facing seniors and this country today – elder financial abuse and exploitation. Whether you call it a hidden epidemic or the Crime of the 21st Century, as some have, it is a serious problem that we need to address. The numbers paint a sobering picture. According to a study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, Americans over the age of 65 lost more than $2.9 billion to financial abuse and exploitation in 2010, a 12 percent increase from the $2.6 billion estimated in 2008. …More disturbing is the $2.9 billion the MetLife study estimated represents only a fraction of all instances of financial exploitation against older Americans because elder financial abuse and exploitation is underreported.”