Lew Said to Warn Banks of Tough Volcker Rule in Meetings

Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew warned chief executive officers of top U.S. banks in a private meeting last month that the final Volcker rule ban on proprietary trading would be tougher than Wall Street expects.

At the meeting, details of which haven’t previously been disclosed, Lew told industry leaders that he has been encouraging regulators to make provisions of the Volcker rule more stringent, according to two people familiar with the meeting. The bank executives, members of the Financial Services Forum, left the meeting concerned the final rule would be more restrictive on their trading business than previously indicated, the people said.