The Volcker Rule’s Unusual Critics – Ben Protess (DealBook/NYT)
February 15, 2012

“What does Goldman Sachs have in common with Red Lobster and Macy’s? They all loathe the Volcker Rule. While Wall Street is the chief critic of the rule, which bars banks from trading with their own money, the financial industry is finding sympathy from some unlikely quarters. A patchwork of nearly 30 companies — from industries as disparate as retail, energy and medical research — has weighed in with their own anti-Volcker Rule sentiments. The companies, organized by the United States Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to regulators on Tuesday that outlined their objections to a draft proposal of the rule. Goldman this week sent two letters to regulators. At the root of their disdain is fear. Adopting one of Wall Street’s central talking points, Corporate America is worried that the rule will suck liquidity out of the financial system, which provides financing to companies big and small. … An array of supporters of the proposed rule, including Mr. Volcker himself, pushed back against the escalating rhetoric. ‘This criticism is deeply misguided,’ Americans for Financial Reform, a nonprofit group that favors Wall Street regulation, said in a comment letter. The group said that too much of a good thing, or ‘excessive market liquidity,’ drove the financial system to the brink of collapse in 2008.” Click here for more.