Banks, Securities & the Volcker Rule: Background & Issues

In 1933, during the first 100 days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Securities Act of 1933 and the Glass-Steagall Act (GSA) were enacted, setting up a pervasive regulatory scheme for the public offering of securities and generally prohibiting commercial banks from underwriting and dealing in those securities. Banks are subject to heavy, expensive prudential regulation, while the regulation of securities firms is predominantly built around registration, disclosure of risk, and the prevention and prosecution of insider trading and other forms of fraud. This book discusses the permissible proprietary trading activities of commercial banks and their subsidiaries under current law and then analyses the Volcker Rule proposals under the House and Senate passed financial reform bills.