US regulators have proposed easing regulations that restrict banks from investing their own money in venture capital funds, but not all Federal Reserve officials are in favour.

The Federal Reserve and fellow regulators propose to tweak a feature of the Volcker Rule, which would allow banks to take a stake in venture capital and credit funds.

Under the Volcker Rule, these firms were classed as “covered funds”, and banks are prohibited from investing in them. But regulators describe the current