AFR Press Statement: Big Banks Seek to Undermine and Negate the Volcker Rule

“The Wall Street Journal has reported that the big banks are pressing Congress for a statutory delay in the implementation of the Volcker Rule. They claim that the fact that the law will become effective this July, possibly before all the rules are finalized, will lead to disruptions in our financial markets. But that’s simply not true. The Dodd-Frank Act gives banks up to two years after the effective date of the law — in other words, until July 2014 — to come into compliance with all the provisions of the Volcker Rule. That’s plenty of time to make the changes necessary. This lobbying effort should be seen for what it is — just another effort to undermine and negate the Volcker Rule so that Wall Street can continue proprietary speculation while taking advantage of the safety net taxpayers provide to the banking system.”