February 9, 2012
I am writing in support of a strong Volcker Rule.
As you prepare the final rule, bear in mind the fundamental goal of the rule - to ban big banks from exposing consumers and taxpayers to risky proprietary trades.
Banks that break the rule should face swift, automatic penalties for violations. Violations of the Volcker Rule endanger the stability of our financial system. They should not be treated lightly.
Exemptions should only be allowed if they do not undermine this goal. If an exemption would result in exposing consumers and taxpayers to bank risk, it should be rejected.
Congress should impose a financial transactions tax of about 0.01 per cent of the value of each trade of a financial product, including stocks, bonds, futures, derivatives, and so on. Such a tax would have minimal impact on traditional arbitrage, but would discourage the high-volume, computer-driven trading which is such a destabilizing and risky burden on the markets, as well as raising revenue from a sector which does not now pay anything near its fair share of taxes.
Thank you for considering my comment,
David B. Chandler
Newark, DE