Win for Wall Street as Trump revamps Volcker rule on speculative trading

Regulatory changes provide lenders clearer picture of which trades are prohibited, but critics say they could again endanger the financial system.

Wall Street watchdogs handpicked by President Donald Trump eased the Volcker Rule’s controversial ban on banks making speculative investments, wrapping up a top deregulatory priority that’s long been sought by the financial industry.

The changes, approved Tuesday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., seek to provide lenders a much clearer picture of which trades are prohibited, giving them confidence to engage in transactions without fear of violating Volcker.

But one Democratic FDIC board member warned the rollback could again endanger the financial system by allowing lenders to recklessly trade hundreds of billions