WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, who co-authored the Volcker Rule with former Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), released the following statement after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) voted to pass a new rulemaking designed to gut the Volcker Rule, with other Trump Administration financial regulators expected to follow suit soon. The Volcker Rule, a landmark provision of the 2010 financial reform law, shut down the Wall Street casino in which banks made huge bets on future stock values, foreign exchange rates, and interest rates. It is widely seen as one of the key provisions of that law to prevent a repeat of a 2008-style financial meltdown. The change approved by the FDIC appears to create a massive loophole in which such bets could be hidden from regulators as so-called ‘market making’ trades for customers.
“Every American should be worried that our regulators have been captured by the industry and are failing to protect the soundness of our banks and our economy.
“Let’s call it like it is: This is a massive giveaway to the biggest banks. This is a brazen attempt by big banks and their Trump-appointed allies to reopen the Wall Street casino, no matter the cost to working Americans who will lose their homes, jobs, and savings when the casino goes belly-up.”
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