SVB’s failure has led US regulators to see higher capital as solution to future crises
The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and a few others has led regulators to swing the pendulum too far toward more draconian capital solutions. U.S. bank regulators recently unveiled sweeping proposals to raise capital for the country’s largest banks by around 16%, or about $200 billion. The proposed capital charges stunned many in the banking industry and prompted dissent among policymakers at the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) — something one rarely sees….The question that emerges is why such draconian capital charges are needed when regulators have long said that the U.S. banking system is resilient and well-capitalized. “The banking agencies are in the same bind parents are with their children,” said Karen Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics, a Washington, D.C. consultancy. “They want to tell the world how clever their kids are so no one thinks the kid is at-risk or the parent is neglectful. But, at home, they demand lots more homework and far better grades. The agencies’ rhetorical dance results from their desire to reassure financial markets yet chastise banks.”
https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/investigation-fraud-and-risk/svbs-failure-future-crises/