Volcker Rule Has New Opponents: Foreign Governments

The Volcker Rule, part of last year’s Dodd-Frank financial regulation law, which debars banks from participating in risky proprietary trading, has drawn stiff opposition from finance ministers from around the globe. A specific tenant of the rule that says that U.S. banks, and possibly some foreign banks that do business in America, would be restricted from trading in foreign government bonds, has left many foreign governments unhappy.

The move, critics say, will drastically reduce the liquidity of foreign sovereign bonds, and increase the borrowing costs of governments in need of capital. The rule however does not prevent banks from...