볼커 룰(Volcker Rule)의 기본구조, 최종규칙 및 그 영향 (Basic structures of the Volcker Rule: Final Rules and their impact)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 은행법학회
· 수록지 정보 : 은행법연구 / 8권 / 2호 / 63 ~ 102페이지
· 저자명 : 오성근

초록

2007년 7월부터 시작된 금융위기 이후 미국은 2010년 7월 제정된 도드-프랭크법을 중심으로 광범위하게 금융규제개혁을 추진하여 왔다. 그 중에서 주목을 받고 있는 것이 동법 제619조의 볼커 룰(Volcker Rule)이다. 2013년 12월 10일 연방준비제도이사회(Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, FRB), 연방예금보험공사(Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FDIC), 통화감독청(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, OCC), 증권거래위원회(Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC), 상품선물거래위원회(Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC) 등 5개의 연방감독기관이 「자기계정거래 및 헤지펀드와 PEF의 특정지분 및 관계의 금지 및 제한」(Prohibition and Restrictions on Proprietary Trading and Certain Interests in, and Relationships with, Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds)이라고 하는 볼커 룰의 최종공동규칙을 공표하였다.
최종규칙은 예금보험대상기관, 예금보험대상기관을 지배하는 기업(이른바, 은행조직체(banking entity)와 비은행금융회사(non bank financial company)), 일부의 외국은행 및 이들의 자회사 및 관계회사가 자기계정거래(propriety trading)를 하거나 헤지펀드(hedge fund)·PEF(Private Equity Fund)에 대한 투자행위를 금지하거나 제한하고, 이를 실현하기 위한 컴플라이언스 프로그램을 구축하고 시행하는 것을 주된 내용으로 하고 있다. 최종규칙은 원칙적으로는 2014년 4월 1일부터 발효되었고, 컴플라이언스 프로그램은 2015년 7월 21부터 유효하다.
이와 같이 볼커 룰의 목적은 예금보험 등의 정부지원을 받는 금융기관이 고위험사업을 수행하지 아니하도록 하는데 있다. 본래 볼커 룰은 2011년 10월에 원안(proposed rule)이 공표되었다. 그러나, 그 이후 JP Morgan이 런던에서 거액손실사건을 야기하는 등의 문제점이 발생하자, 최종규칙에서는 자기계정거래에 관한 제한을 보다 엄격히 하고, 내부관리를 더욱 강화하는 등에 주안점을 두어 원안을 수정하였다. 다만 최종규칙은 헤지거래(hedge transaction)와 시장조성(market making)에 관하여 엄격한 내부관리와 거래·포지션확인을 요구하고 있는 반면, 규제대상을 축소하여 허용되는 업무(Permitted activities)를 열거 하는 등의 완화조치도 강구하고 있다.
마지막으로 볼커 룰이 발효됨에 따라 금융기관의 규제준수비용은 상승하고, 트레이딩업무의 수익성은 떨어질 수 있을 것으로 보인다. 그리고 시장조성 등이 과도하게 위축되는 때에는 금융시장의 유동성이 저하될 가능성도 있다. 따라서 향후 미국의 금융감독당국이 이러한 문제점을 예방하는 금융감독수법, 그리고 그 결과가 은행조직체 등의 행위와 금융시장에 미치는 영향 등에 대하여는 계속하여 분석할 필요가 있을 것으로 판단된다.

영어초록

Following the financial crisis of 2007-2008, the U.S. government introduced a number of legislative measures in order to achieve across-the-board reform of the country’s financial regulatory system. Experts agree that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) is one of these measures. It was enacted in July 2010 and brought the most significant and sweeping changes to the financial regulatory environment in the United States. In particular, section 619 of the new law, which is commonly referred to as the “Volcker Rule,” continues to receive attention as one of the most forceful provisions adopted by the U.S. Congress. This is because it is far-reaching and covers both U.S. banking entities and non-banking financial companies with U.S. banking operations. In addition, a commission made up of five federal regulatory agencies – the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission - approved and issued on December 10, 2013 the Final Rules, which were developed jointly to implement the same section of the Volcker Rule.
Under the Final Rules, insured depository institutions and companies affiliated with insured depository institutions ("banking entities") cannot: • engage in short-term proprietary trading; or • acquire or retain any equity, partnership or other ownership interest in or sponsor a hedge fund or a private equity fund.
Also, under the same rules, banking entities are required to develop a compliance program designed to bring the banking entity into compliance with the Volcker Rule. The Final Rules became effective on April 1, 2014, with a conformance period until July 21, 2015, The Volcker Rule’s purpose, as former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker noted, is to “keep banks, whose deposits are federally insured, from taking excessive risks”, which contributed to the 2007-2008 financial crisis, “based on the funding advantage that they get from implied government support.” The proposed rules were first approved and released in October 2011. After problems occurred the following year, however, including large trading losses that took place at JP Morgan Chase based on transactions booked through its London branch, modifications and revisions were made in such ways that the new rule imposed stricter limitations on proprietary trading and required federally insured investment companies to strengthen their management ethics before the final Volcker Rule regulations were released and adopted by the agencies on December 10, 2013. It is noteworthy, however, that whereas the rule requires investment companies to uphold stricter rules on in-house management and market making with respect to hedge transactions and trading position checks, it provides regulation-easing provisions by narrowing the scope of regulation and listing permitted activities.
Finally, as the Volcker Rule becomes effective, it is expected that the compliance costs of financial institutions will rise, whereas profitability of their trading activities may drop. Also, under any circumstances where market making is not easily available, the capital mobility of financial markets is likely to decrease as a result. From this perspective, the author suggests that in order to prevent such problems from occurring and ensure the proper functioning and integrity of the country’s overall financial system, financial regulatory agencies in the United States should continue to not just develop such financial regulatory techniques but also to track and analyze their effects on financial markets.

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