Obama faces pressure on Volcker Rule
Nearly two years after the signing of a major law to boost oversight of Wall Street, two Democratic senators are calling on President Obama to speak out even more strongly in favor of a new federal rule that they say should have banned the trading that led to JPMorgan Chases $2 billion or more loss.
But Obama is in a difficult spot. Although he introduced and supports the Volcker Rule, which bans banks from gambling with their own money, regulators have yet to finish writing the rule and havent determined whether the trading would have violated the draft version of the rule that has been released.
In his remarks since the JPMorgan debacle, Obama has stressed that the trading losses underscore how new regulations are making the financial system stronger and show the need for putting more rules into place.
Last week, the authors of the Volcker Rule called on Obama to speak out in favor of a tougher version of it.
There is no way they should be silent in this matter, said?Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), one of the authors of the Volcker Rule. Its my hope theyll speak out very clearly on this subject.
full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-pressed-to-take-stand-on-volcker-rule/2012/05/21/gIQAMA8agU_story.html
On May 16, WJR morning host Paul W. Smith interviewed Sen. Levin about the JP Morgan Chase crisis among other topics. In the interview, Levin voiced the need for Volcker-type regulation.