New Volcker Rule "QuickCharts" Tool Released as Final Rules Go Into Effect April 1st

NEW YORK, April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a leading global provider of intelligent information and digital solutions for legal and business professionals, today announced the release of Volcker Rule QuickCharts -- a workflow tool that allows practitioners to quickly review any topic related to the Volcker Rule and see a summary of the latest information with links to related primary source material and effective dates. Within seconds, Volcker Rule QuickCharts provides answers that can be saved and exported to Microsoft Word or Excel.

Last December, the Federal Reserve Board announced that five federal agencies issued final rules to implement section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Volcker Rule").  The final section, which goes into effect April 1^st,^, imposes new and potentially severe limitations on domestic and foreign banking entity activity in regard to proprietary trading and investments in "covered funds."  Regulators have set the compliance date of July 21st, 2015.

"Bank CEOs will be 'under the gun' since they will be required to attest annually in writing to regulators that their banks have in place processes to establish, maintain, enforce, review, test, and modify their compliance programs in a manner reasonably designed to achieve compliance under the Volcker Rule," said Jim Hamilton, Principal Analyst, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.  "Legal practitioners that provide counsel now face the arduous task of figuring out how to comply with the Rule and stay up-to-date on all the changes that will be sure to follow."

The Volcker Rule QuickCharts provides a holistic view and covers every aspect of the Rule with ongoing updates from Trading and Covered Fund Activities/Investments to Compliance Programs to help legal practitioners and corporate counsel navigate within the complex, evolving environment.  As an example, if one needs to quickly understand the controversy and effect the Volcker Rule regulations have on investments in collateralized debt obligations that are backed by trust preferred securities (TruPS CDOs), the Covered Fund Definitions section groups the analysis on the topic with a compilation of government and industry documents that trace the debate surrounding the interim rule adopted by the regulators to respond to industry concerns.  By providing all of the material for each regulatory requirement at one's fingertips, Volcker Rule QuickCharts saves time when looking for all of the historical material tracing the development of the regulations.  Ninety-nine percent of over 100 survey respondents said QuickCharts save them research time—with two-thirds of those saying the proprietary tool saves them significant research time.*

"While big banks and investment banks are the most directly affected entities, smaller banks will also be subject to aspects of the Rule.  The Volcker Rule QuickCharts tool will help law firm practitioners and  in-house counsel  stay on top of these changes to ensure regulatory compliance and avoid negative publicity from noncompliance," noted Susan Chazin, Senior Product Line Director, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.

Wolters Kluwer Law & Business' Volcker Rule QuickCharts is available at wolterskluwerlb.com/volckerrule.  

About Wolters Kluwer Law & Business

Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading global provider of intelligent information and digital solutions. We connect legal and business professionals, educators, and law students with timely, specialized authoritative content, and information-enabled solutions that support success through productivity, accuracy and mobility. Serving customers worldwide, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business portfolio includes products under the Aspen Publishers, CCH Incorporated, Croner, Kluwer Law International, Loislaw, ftwilliam.com, and MediRegs names. Our products are regarded as trusted resources for general legal and practice-specific knowledge, compliance and risk management, dynamic workflow solutions, and expert commentary.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer is a market-leading global information services company. Professionals in the areas of legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare rely on Wolters Kluwer's leading information-enabled tools and software solutions to manage their business efficiently, deliver results to their clients, and succeed in an evermore dynamic world.

Wolters Kluwer had 2010 annual revenues of €3.6 billion, employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, serving customers globally. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices.

*May 2012 Market Research Study

SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Law & Business