The Federal Reserve's attempt to clarify the "Volcker rule" is only creating more confusion in the financial services industry and Congress, the Wall Street Journal reported today. At issue is whether the Fed is requiring banks to start scaling back on making bets with their own money almost immediately, or whether they can continue until the ban on such activities goes into effect in two years. Law firms, bankers, analysts and members of Congress are divided on what the Fed is advising. While Fed governor Daniel Tarullo said at a congressional hearing in March that regulators should keep trying to meet the July deadline, there is no firm date internally for when that final measure will be ready. The Fed largely calmed bankers' fears when it said in its guidance that it expects banks to "engage in good-faith planning efforts" to make sure they comply with proprietary-trading restrictions by July 21, 2014. That deadline follows a two-year "conformance" period after the rule's implementation.
