Dealers confident of Volcker rule exceptions

Banks have been thinking hard about the potential impact of the Volcker rule, but many have come to the conclusion they will be able to win exemptions for the majority of their activities, squashing early fears that unhedged client business would fall under the definition of prop trading. Matt Cameron reports

When laying down financial law, legislators are often accused of building Maginot Lines: regulations that can be successfully circumvented after a period of creative thinking by a team of bankers and their lawyers. Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act – or the Volcker rule as it is more popularly known – could end up meeting the same fate.

"[In October,] we sat down with our counsel and after an hour of question-and-answer, the lead counsel turned to me