The Clearing House Association, along with three other trade associations, submitted a comment letter to the regulatory agencies addressing their proposed rule implementing the Volcker Rule, specifically commenting on provisions related to hedge funds and private equity funds. The comment letter argues, among other things, that: (i) the agencies need to define the term “covered funds” in a manner that excludes ordinary business structures that have never been considered hedge funds or private equity funds, (ii) the agencies should define “similar fund” in a manner consistent with the scope and intent of Dodd-Frank, (iii) the agencies should exclude all permitted covered funds and certain other entities from the term “banking entity,” (iv) the agencies should provide that all of the “permitted activities” exemptions, other than the asset management exemption, will apply to Super 23A in addition to the general prohibition on sponsoring or investing in a covered fund, (v) the SBIC exemption should extend to “public welfare” investments outside the U.S., and (vi) the agencies should define “covered transactions” to reflect the exclusions from that term contained in § 23A of the Federal Reserve Act. The associations’ letter also addresses important compliance and conformance issues.