FDIC PROPOSES MINIMUM CAPITAL STANDARDS FOR BANKS

U.S. regulators today proposed new capital standards for all financial institutions, implementing a requirement of the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The standards mandate that the nation's largest banks be subject to the same minimum standards for their capital cushions as smaller institutions, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said. The FDIC also voted to gradually boost the amount of reserves that insured banks must hold. The so-called designated reserve ratio would be targeted to rise to 2 percent over the next 17 years, FDIC officials said. The Dodd-Frank law sets a minimum of 1.35 percent by fall 2020. The Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are joining the FDIC's proposal