Today, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved an extension of the public comment period for the proposed rule commonly known as the "Volcker Rule." The comment period, which was to end on January 13, 2012, has been extended by 30 days.
We strongly agree that interested parties should be allowed more time to study the rule proposal and to give careful thought to all the questions that the release poses. But the 30 day comment period extension is insufficient given the complexities of the Volcker Rule proposal. This proposal also has the potential to dramatically and irrevocably impact the U.S. financial markets. Accordingly, the comment period extension should have been longer to help ensure the integrity and soundness of the rulemaking process.