WASHINGTON—Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould issued the following statement today at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) board meeting about two proposals to modernize the regulatory capital framework for banking organizations of all sizes.
Today’s proposals are another important step in resetting the risk tolerance for the banking system and restoring banks to their proper role as financial intermediaries. The OCC currently estimates that the banks it supervises will see an aggregate reduction in minimum binding capital requirements of 6.9% under the proposed standardized approach. And the very largest OCC-supervised banks will see a reduction of 3.4% under the expanded risk-based approach. This increases lending capacity and gives banks more runway to support their communities and customers.
These proposals would also simplify our regulatory framework by eliminating the need for calculating risk weights using multiple methodologies in parallel. Overly-complex or unintuitive regulatory frameworks frustrate accountability to elected officials and the public, impede economic growth, and compromise our ability to respond in a crisis.
I would like to thank the OCC team as well as our colleagues at the FDIC and the Federal Reserve for their excellent efforts on these proposals. None of this would have been possible without the leadership of Chairman Hill and Vice Chair for Supervision Bowman, and I look forward to continuing to work with them as we review and respond to comments from the public.
