On July 16, 2015, the five US federal financial regulatory agencies – US Federal Reserve Board, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission – issued a new Volcker Rule Frequently Asked Question 16 addressing the status of certain US-registered investment companies and foreign public funds as "banking entities" during their "seeding period." Certain RICs and foreign public funds are currently excluded from the Volcker Rule's definition of "covered fund" and FAQ 16 ensures that they will not be treated as "banking entities" under the Volcker Rule solely due to a banking entity's ownership of the registered investment company or foreign public fund during the "seeding period" absent evidence that the RIC or foreign public fund was being used to evade the Volcker Rule's requirements.
Volcker Rule FAQ 16 is available at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/bankinforeg/volcker-rule/faq.htm#16.
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