Volcker me sideways, as the saying goes. Sorry its not a well-known term but I think its about time someone coined it. Really, jokes aside, this Volcker thingy is a vulgar beast and the US regulators need to think long and hard before pushing ahead with the ruling to the letter.
Interpretations are important as we shall see and sound regulatory guidance will be one of the key factors for determining whether an investment banks business model remains viable at all and whether the ruling itself is effective in any manner. What might be worse, is that the Volcker rule may encourage the very disorder it is designed to prevent and in this blog we will take a look at some of these issues.