Fed extends deadline for meeting rule on divesting PE firms, hedge funds

Washington

GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc and other Wall Street banks can breathe a sigh of relief after the US Federal Reserve said on Monday that it would give them more time to meet Volcker Rule requirements to unload hard-to-sell stakes in private-equity firms and hedge funds.

Banks can be granted as long as five years from the current July 21 compliance date to divest holdings that are considered especially illiquid, the Fed said in a statement on Monday. The central bank said that it probably will grant such extensions as long as lenders have demonstrated "meaningful progress" toward meeting Volcker requirements. "The board expects that the illiquid funds of banking entities will generally qualify for extensions," the Fed added.