US eases big‑bank capital rules
U.S. regulators unveiled a rewrite of large‑bank capital rules that would lower aggregate required capital by about 4.8%, freeing balance‑sheet capacity for lending and dividends. The change walks back parts of post‑2008 Basel III and is likely to expand lending capacity for asset‑heavy businesses such as floorplan and inventory finance. (reuters.com)
Agencies formally requested comment on three separate proposals on March 19, 2026 as a joint effort by the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the OCC. (federalreserve.gov) The largest, most internationally active banks would shift to a single set of risk‑based calculations and the proposal explicitly implements the final components of the Basel III agreement; the market‑risk portion applies only to firms with significant trading activity. (federalreserve.gov) A second proposal would recalibrate capital for traditional lending lines and modify capital treatment for mortgage servicing and originations, and it would require certain large banks—after a transition—to reflect unrealized gains and losses on specified securities in their capital metrics. (federalreserve.gov) The Federal Reserve’s third proposal would change how systemic risk is measured for the global systemically important bank (G‑SIB) surcharge, and Governor Michael S. Barr published a dissent saying the package, when combined with recent leverage‑ratio changes, would reduce G‑SIB tier‑1 capital by about 6.0%, roughly $60 billion. (federalreserve.gov) Federal Reserve staff analysis circulated with the package shows uneven effects by size—staff put the projected declines for mid‑tier and smaller banks at specific percentages higher than for the biggest banks—and regulators signaled the proposals will be open for roughly a 90‑day public comment period. (bankingjournal.aba.com) The joint notices state that other banks could opt into the revised framework and federal examination guidance identifies floorplan and inventory financing as lines typically provided by banks, a combination that industry observers and trade groups have framed as intended to support more lending activity across commercial and asset‑backed finance lines. (federalreserve.gov)
