Tighter curbs sought on investments by US banks

New York

REGULATORS in the United States are seeking to impose further restrictions on the ability of Wall Street banks to make risky investments with their own money.

If the new rules proceed, banks will be prohibited from buying and selling commodities, such as copper, and would have to shut down what remains of their in-house private equity operations.

The biggest banks have already been scaling back these businesses but Goldman Sachs continues to have significant operations in these areas.

Most of the recommendations are unlikely to take effect soon because they would need to be passed by Congress. But the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is moving to immediately prohibit banks from buying and selling co…