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Banker Resource Center
The Volcker Rule generally restricts banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading and from owning, sponsoring, or having certain relationships with a hedge fund or private equity fund. A bank that does not have (and is not controlled by a company that has) more than $10 billion in total consolidated assets and does not have (and is not controlled by a company that has) total trading assets and liabilities of 5 percent or more of total consolidated assets is excluded from the Volcker Rule.
Laws and Regulations
Key laws and regulations that pertain to FDIC-supervised institutions; note that other laws and regulations also may apply.
- Part 351 — Proprietary Trading and Certain Interests In and Relationships With Covered Funds implements Section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act, also known as the Volcker Rule, which addresses prohibitions and restrictions on proprietary trading and investment in, or relationships with, covered funds
- Relevant Federal Register Notices incorporated into Part 351 that describe the basis and purpose of the rule and its revisions
- Revisions to Modify and Clarify the Covered Fund Provisions of the Volcker Rule
- Revisions to Tailor and Simplify the Proprietary Trading and Compliance Provisions of the Volcker Rule
- Revisions to Exclude Community Banks from the Volcker Rule
- Prohibitions and Restrictions on Proprietary Trading and Certain Interests in, and Relationships With, Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds
Supervisory Resources
Frequently asked questions, advisories, statements of policy, and other information issued by the FDIC alone, or on an interagency basis, provided to promote safe-and-sound operations.
- Fact Sheet: Final Rule Amendments to the Volcker Rule addresses the proprietary trading provisions and compliance program requirements with thresholds using a three-tiered approach to tailor program requirements
- Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies Announce Coordination of Reviews for Certain Foreign Funds Under Volcker Rule provides notice that the agencies will not take action related to Volcker Rule restrictions on certain foreign funds for an additional two-year period ending July 21, 2021
- Supervisory Guidance on the Capital Treatment of Certain Investments in Covered Funds clarifies interaction between the Regulatory Capital Rule and the Volcker Rule for appropriate capital treatment for investments in certain private equity funds and hedge funds (covered funds)
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) address various aspects of the Volcker Rule - Refer to the single document with all FAQs (chronological order):
- Compliance Program
- Covered Funds
- Foreign Public Fund Seeding Vehicles
- Foreign Public Funds Sponsored by a Banking Entities
- Joint Venture Exclusion for Covered Funds
- Loan Securitization Servicing Assets
- Mortgage-Backed Securities of Government-Sponsored Enterprises
- Namesharing Prohibition
- Seeding Period Treatment of Registered Investment Companies and Foreign Public Funds
- SOTUS Covered Fund Exemption: Marketing Restriction
- Applicability of the Restrictions in Section 13(f) of the BHC Act
- Capital Treatment of Banking Entity Investments in TruPS CDOs
- Metrics Reporting
- Proprietary Trading
- Instructions for preparation of quantitative measurements provides reporting guidance for banking entities subject to the metrics reporting requirement under Appendix A of the Volcker Rule
- Technical specifications for reporting quantitative measurements provides guidance for preparing and submitting quantitative measurements for banking entities subject to the metrics reporting requirement under Appendix A of the Volcker Rule
Other Resources
Supplemental information and guidance related to safe and sound banking operations
- Section 620 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report on types of activities and investments permissible for banking entities, the associated risks, and how banking entities mitigate those risks
- Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Report on Prohibitions on Proprietary Trading and Certain Relationships with Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds
