The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research organization dedicated to improving regulation of U.S. capital markets, has issued recommendations and alternative proposals for implementation of the Volcker rule. The committee proposed that an approach similar to a flexible one used with respect to investments be used to determine whether the purpose of a trade is hedging, market making or underwriting.
“We do not believe that it is possible to define with precision the line between proprietary trading and the three permissible activities. Either one risks too limited or too broad a definition of proprietary trading. A too limited definition would not prevent the trading that Congress sought to prevent, while a too broad interpretation would prohibit activities Congress sought to allow,” the committee said.