The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report Jan. 23 that said the nation’s financial regulatory system remains fragmented and that less than half the new rules called for by the Dodd-Frank Act have been completed, Reuters reported.

Under Dodd-Frank, federal regulators have oversight of and responsibility for tougher rules on banks. However, the GAO noted that the interconnectedness and complexity of the new rules has delayed their implementation because the joint action of so many agencies is required. Further, Dodd-Frank failed to address the bulky overlapping of responsibility among federal and state regulatory agencies, Reuters reported.

Among the major actions awaiting implementation is the Volcker rule, which would ban proprietary trading and was supposed to take effect in July 2012. The rule remains unfinished, requiring the agreement of five federal agencies — the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Reserve, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — to complete.

“Although regulators have established mechanisms to facilitate coordination and believe coordination efforts have improved the quality of the rulemakings, several regulators indicated that coordination increased the amount of time needed to finalize rulemakings,” the report stated, Reuters reported.