Overview
- The FDIC and OCC approved the final rule unanimously and the Federal Reserve advanced it on a 5–2 vote, with agencies also unveiling a separate proposal to ease the community bank leverage ratio.
- For holding companies, the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio is set at 3% plus half of the Method 1 GSIB surcharge, while depository subsidiaries face a 1% eSLR cap that limits their overall leverage requirement to no more than 4%.
- Regulators estimate less than a 2% Tier 1 capital reduction at affected holding companies (about $13 billion), versus roughly 27%–28% lower requirements at depository subsidiaries (about $213–$219 billion), with subsidiary capital generally not available for shareholder distributions.
- The rule becomes effective April 1, 2026, and banks may opt in beginning January 1, 2026; the CBLR proposal would lower the ratio to 8% and extend the compliance grace period to four quarters, with comments due 60 days after publication.
- Industry groups including SIFMA and the Bank Policy Institute praised the shift as supportive of Treasury market intermediation, while Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized the capital relief; Fed Governor Stephen Miran supported the change and urged further carveouts for Treasuries and reserves.