On July 7, 2016, the Federal Reserve announced that it will extend until July 21, 2017 the conformance period for banking entities to divest ownership in certain legacy investment funds and terminate relationships with funds that are prohibited under Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act, commonly known as the Volcker Rule. The Board had announced in December 2014 that it would make this extension to provide for orderly divestitures and to prevent market disruptions. This is the final of the three one-year extensions that the Board is authorized to grant.

In making this announcement, the Federal Reserve emphasized that: “This extension would permit banking entities additional time to divest or conform only ‘legacy covered fund’ investments, such as prohibited investments in hedge funds and private equity funds that were made prior to December 31, 2013. This extension does not apply to investments in and relationships with a covered fund made after December 31, 2013 or to proprietary trading activities; banking entities were required to conform those activities to the final rule by July 21, 2015.”

The Federal Reserve also noted that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission: “plan to administer their oversight of banking entities under their respective jurisdictions in accordance with the Board’s conformance rule and this extension of the conformance period.”

Finally, the Board noted that: “upon the application of a banking entity, the Board is permitted under section 619 to provide up to an additional five years to conform investments in certain illiquid funds, where the banking entity had a contractual commitment to invest in the fund as of May 1, 2010.” Release.