On December 10, 2013 the US federal banking agencies, along with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (collectively, the Agencies), adopted the long-­awaited and much-­anticipated final regulations (the Final Rule) that implement Section 619 of the Dodd-­Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-­Frank Act), commonly referred to as the “Volcker Rule”.

The Volcker Rule is a key component of the US financial reform effort under the Dodd-­Frank Act, and represents perhaps the most significant changes in US financial regulation in decades. This Client Alert provides an initial look at noteworthy changes made in the Final Rule.