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Fed backs down from aggressive bank capital requirements

The Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC.
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Under a revised proposal, large banks would have to increase their capital reserves by 9% instead of by 19%.

The Federal Reserve has watered down its original plan to raise the capital reserve requirements of America’s largest banks by up to 19% as part of the final implementation of Basel III, a multinational agreement formulated to reduce the risk of bank failure in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.