Analyst: Costs may push Goldman to cut bank status

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
New compliance burdens tied to proposed regulations seeking to limit bank speculative trading could drive firms like Goldman Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley to consider ending their status as bank holding companies, according to Susquehanna Financial Group LLC analyst David Hilder.
At issue is the Volcker Rule, named after an idea suggested by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, which would prohibit big insured banks' speculative proprietary derivatives and stock investments by next summer.
It also seeks to limit banks' investments in hedge- and private-equity funds in an effort to reduce risks to the broader financial system.
Hilder added that such an exit would also "presumably" mean a lack of routine access to the Federal Reserve's discount window.