“Government regulators unveiled a sweeping rule Tuesday to prevent big banks from trading for their benefit rather than on behalf of customers,” Danielle Douglas reports in the Dec. 11 Washington Post.

“‘Issuing a final rule is only the beginning of the process,’ said Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry, at the FDIC board meeting. ‘The OCC will be especially vigilant in developing a robust examination and enforcement program that ensures our largest institutions will remain compliant…’

“As analysts anticipated, the Fed has extended the amount of time banks have to conform to the rule by pushing the deadline back a full year to July 21, 2015…

“Institutions with at least $50 billion in trading assets and liabilities will have to report seven quantitative measurements, including the amount of risk that a trading desk is permitted to take at a point in time.

“‘The strength of the rule is the scope of the compliance regime,’ said Marcus Stanley, policy director of Americans for Financial Reform. ‘The regulators correctly realized that most proprietary trading is hidden within supposedly innocent activities like hedging or market making.’

“He said the rule offers guidelines that are only as effective as the regulators that implement them.”

MORE VOLCKER RULE STORIES THAT CITE AFR

Here’s the Story Behind the Big Wall Street Reform Rule That Was Just Approved
Erika Eichelberger, Mother Jones, 12/10/13

Regulators adopt final Volcker rule limits on bank trading
Danielle Douglas, Washington Post, 12/10/13

The Volcker Rule Is Tough. It’s Complicated. Will It Be Effective? 
Peter Coy, Bloomberg Businessweek, 12/11/13

The first Volcker Rule loophole?
Nancy Marshall-Genzer, Marketplace, 12/10/13

Banking Under Dodd-Frank Takes Shape With Volcker-Rule Approval 
Clea Benson and Dave Michaels, Bloomberg, 12/11/3

The Volcker Rule: How It Will Work, and Why It May Still Fail
David Dayen, New Republic, 12/10/13

Volcker Rule Allows Both Banks and Regulators to Declare Victory
Robert Schmidt, Bloomberg, 12/10/13

Volcker Rule Will Force U.S. Banks to Comply With Five Regimes
Jesse Hamilton and Cheyenne Hopkins, Bloomberg, 12/7/13

Glass-Steagall Fans Plan New Assault If Volcker Rule Deemed Weak
Phil Mattingly and Cheyenne Hopkins, Bloomberg, 12/9/13

The Volcker rule is nearly finished. Here’s how we’ll know if it’s any good.
Mike Konczal, Washington Post Wonkblog, 12/7/13

The Volcker Rule: An Essential Reader
John Light, Moyers & Co., 12/10/13