Volcker Rule OCC Requests Public Input on Potential Revisions

On August 2 2017 the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a notice seeking public input regarding how to revise the Volcker Rule. The notice cites a report that the US Treasury Department released in June 2017, which included recommendations for significant changes to the Volcker Rule (among other recommendations to reform the US financial system). Although the OCC did not propose specific changes to the Volcker Rule in its notice, it stated that "[t]he information that the OCC is soliciting could support the revisions to the final rule advanced in the Treasury report and elsewhere". The notice states that the "OCC is not requesting comment on changes to the underlying Volcker statute". Instead, the OCC is requesting additional information and suggestions that it and the other agencies responsible for implementing the Volcker Rule can consider as they determine whether to propose formal changes to the rule. Any formal rulemaking would require joint action by the OCC and those other agencies. None of the other agencies have issued corresponding requests for public comment at this time.