Atlantic: Dodd's Resistance To Volcker Plan Should Signal Its Death
Feb 3 2010, 12:15 pm by Daniel Indiviglio
On Tuesday, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) voiced concern over the so-called Volcker Plan during a committee hearing. The proposal, brainchild of former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, has been championed by the Obama administration. It seeks to prevent banks from using customer deposits to trade for their own account ("prop trading") and caps their exposure to various liabilities. While many regulation advocates love the idea, others believe that eliminating prop trading would have done little to avoid the kinds of risks that led to the financial crisis and that it's hard to figure out how to limit banks' exposures to different kinds of products. And although Dodd is no opponent to the regulation in theory, he worries that the President may be reaching too far in advocating this plan.
As I've noted before, the Senate is having a very difficult time putting together a financial regulation bill that can pass. Dodd is rightly concerned that the President's ambitious proposal will make getting the legislation done even more difficult, if possible. Further, the Wall Street Journal reports:
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