As Obama's health care reform plans enter a limbo stage after the election of Scott Brown, the president is set to propose new banking rules that could offer historic reform in a troubled industry. In short, the proposals offer new measures that will limit the size of banks and the risks they take. Former Fed chief Paul Volcker is pushing for a quasi return to the Glass-Steagall Act that separated retail banks from investment practices that were risky yet spectacularly profitable in the recent decade.

What does this mean for CIOs? Well, they should brace themselves for waves of consultants and vendors who are licking their chops at the chance to explain the new rules. Ironically, the risk systems worked well in the days leading up to the meltdown in 2008; the risk officers could not convince the traders and the executives that they were headed towards an iceberg. Never mind, every consultant and vendor thinks that banks need a risk IT and consulting overhaul.

The big question is what will the final regulatory law look like? Will it be a sober plan or a dashed off proposal like Sarbanes Oxley that pleased no one? The US Congress is very good at providing YouTube-worthy clips of , but one can’t be sure that they know the ins and outs of high finance. The lawmakers are feeling the heat from an angry and anxious public that hated the bank bailouts. One wonders if this environment will lead to a plan that keeps banks in line without hampering them at the same time.

If 2009 was the Year of Risk, then 2010 is the Year of Regulation.