On December 3, three of the five regulators charged with writing the Volcker Rule released notices that they will hold votes on the rule. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued “Sunshine Act” notices saying they would hold open meetings on December 10 to discuss and vote upon the rule. It has also been reported that Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry will also take action on December 10. The Securities and Exchange Commission at this writing has not given notice of its meeting date, although it is expected that the SEC will act soon after the other agencies issue their version of the rule. While the agencies are under legal compulsion to consult with each other about the rule, which must take effect in July, there is fear in the markets that some agencies will issue stricter versions of the rule than others. While it has been reported by The Wall Street Journal that “people familiar with the discussions” say the agencies have reached broad agreement on how to define hedging, even small differences in how terms are defined, much less interpreted, could result in differences in how entities conduct their operations. There is also fear that financial entities in other countries could have a competitive advantage over those institutions subject to the rule, which is expected to be enforced starting in 2015.