Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act — the Volcker Rule — attempts to limit perceived risks in the financial system created by (i) proprietary trading operations of banks and their affiliated companies through a set of “Trading Restrictions” and (ii) investments by banks and affiliated companies in private equity and hedge funds and relationships with such funds through a set of “Fund Restrictions.”

On October 11 and 12, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“FRB”), the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) took steps to implement the Volcker Rule by approving a proposed interagency rule (“Proposed Rule”). It is not clear when the fifth agency required to issue rules implementing the Volcker Rule (“Agency Rules”), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), will act.