The Federal Reserve wants to soften the Volcker Rule on big banks

The Federal Reserve building in Washington.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The three members of the Federal Reserve Board voted unanimously on Wednesday to move forward a proposal that would roll back the Volcker Rule, which prevents banks from making risky bets with depositors' money.

The Volcker Rule has been in effect since April 2014 and is meant to keep banks in check in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Wall Street has complained about the rule ever since, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that regulators are trying to "replace overly complex and inefficient requirements with a more streamlined set of requirements."


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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.