Lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum are looking for ways to alter provisions of a Dodd-Frank final rule they fear will harm community and mid-sized banks. The rule, released on Dec. 10, 2013, implements Section 619 of Dodd-Frank, commonly known as the Volcker Rule.
At issue are final rule provisions that would require banks to divest themselves of certain covered funds — including certain investments in collateralized debt obligations that are backed by trust-preferred securities — by July 2015.
Republican-backed legislation introduced in the U.S. House would exempt from the divestiture requirements collateralized debt obligations that were issued prior to Dec. 10, 2013 and were backed predominantly by trust-preferred securities as of that date.