Business lobby wants a do-over on Volcker Rule

Regulators are facing more pressure to rework a key piece of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, as the nation's largest business lobby said the current plan to implement it is far too complex and leaves companies confused.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce told financial regulators Thursday that its original proposal to implement the "Volcker Rule" needs to be withdrawn and reproposed, given that regulators do not seem to be on the same page as to how it should be put in place.

In particular, the chamber argues that since the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) did not sign on to the joint proposal offered by other regulators in October, companies are stuck in a "guessing game" as to how they will eventually be impacted by the rule. The rule is supposed to be finalized in January.

When the rule was proposed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department all signed on to the joint proposal. But the CFTC did not, leaving it to either sign on at a later date or issue its own take on how the rule should be implemented.

"Until the regulators get on the same page, it is impossible for businesses to offer suggestions as to how to improve the rule," the chamber said.

The provision of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, named after former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, prohibits banks from engaging in proprietary trading where they trade for their own profit and not at the behest of clients. It also limits banks' relationships with hedge funds and private equity funds in an attempt to isolate them from riskier parts of the financial market.

However, regulators are struggling to turn that idea into reality. In October, most of the regulators offered up a dense proposal, spanning hundreds of pages, that posed hundreds of questions to the public on areas they were still trying to figure out.

Regulators are facing pressure from both sides, as financial institutions push for a flexible rule that allows for exemptions for certain activities, while Wall Street reform advocates pull them in the other direction, wanting a firm rule that serves as a strong firewall against risky trading.

The chamber told regulators that when they repropose the rule, they should provide 150 days for public comment, given the complexity involved and the large number of questions being posed to the public. Under the original proposal, the public had a 90-day window, already boosted from the usual 60 days offered by regulators.

The business lobby's letter comes one day after a handful of House Democrats also called on regulators to rework their proposal, saying it fell "far short" of the necessary reform.