Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday proposed loosening a rule that had banned banks from certain short-term trading activities.
Why it matters: This would further weaken the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that was designed to prevent another financial crisis, just days after Congress made its own cuts.
The Fed's move is aimed at The Volcker Rule, named for former Fed chair Paul Volcker, which was designed to stop banks from making speculative investments.
- The proposed changes would create three categories on banks, with restrictions remaining tightest on those with $10 billion or more in trading assets and liabilities.
- Fed chair Jay Powell said: "The proposal will address some of the uncertainty and complexity that now make it difficult for firms to know how best to comply, and for supervisors to know that they are in compliance. Our goal is to replace overly complex and inefficient requirements with a more streamlined set of requirements.”
- Marcus Stanley, policy director at the left-leaning Americans for Financial Reform, said: “These proposals could turn the Volcker Rule into a dead letter, a regulation that would not meaningfully restrict trading activities at the banks whose problems could drag down the entire financial system – again.”
- America is nearing the 10-year anniversary of the financial crisis.