U.S. Lawmakers Reach Agreement on Lincoln Swaps-Desk Measure

U.S. lawmakers reached a compromise on a measure that will force banks to move their swaps-trading desks to subsidiaries, clearing the way for a final agreement on the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s.

Banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. will be permitted to maintain swaps operations used to hedge risk under an accord announced today during House-Senate talks to resolve differences over the regulatory legislation. The deal ended a standoff over a provision crafted by Senator Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat, that was among the most contentious in the debate over new rules for Wall Street.