The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said on Wednesday it had submitted a rule to the Federal Register to prohibit US national banks and federal savings associations from dealing or investing in industrial or commercial metals. The ruling, effective April 1, replaces a prior OCC determination that allowed national banks to trade in copper. It covers metal products such as copper cathodes and aluminium T-bars.

Banks with existing holdings of such metals, acquired through dealing or investing activities, would have to divest at the earliest, but in no lesser than five years.

Copyright Reuters, 2016