Wall Street collectively shuddered at the thought of a new Glass-Steagall. But not all sectors of Wall Street will be affected in the same way. The private equity industry--firms that are not owned by banks anyway--may even gain.

The Financial Times notes data from consulting firm Prequin that shows banks provide only 9 percent of all private equity investments. So the top banks in this arena, mainly Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM), do not stand to be affected in the main. The wider industry may also welcome the changes. If a bank ends its private equity investment business, "it will no longer get first look at deals the investment bank is working on. Smaller fund managers will welcome the level playing field."

At the same time, if a target goes bankrupt, will the bank be able to assume ownership? It's unclear. If a bank will not be able to hold principal investments, that line of assumed protection goes away. Costs may rise, but that may not be the case. There may be a fine distinction.

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