US moves to soften capital rules: ‘Big banks can declare mission accomplished’
US federal regulators are trying to soften bank requirements, loosening the amount of capital US banks must have, in what would be some of the biggest changes to bank restrictions since the 2008 financial crisis and a huge win for financial institutions.On Thursday, US Federal Reserve officials are expected to vote to lower capital requirements – the funds they need to cover risky assets – for the biggest banks by 4.8%, which could free up capital for banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.Larger regional banks like PNC would see their requirements drop by 5.2%, while requirements banks with less than $100bn in assets would fall by 7.
7%.Capital requirements were increased after Wall Street’s risky bets triggered 2008 financial crisis.Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator and ranking member of the Senate banking committee, who helped create regulations after the 2008 financial crisis, said in a statement that the banking industry has been on “a multi-year lobbying assault to gut modest safeguards on Wall Street risk-taking”.“Big banks can now declare mission accomplished.Today’s proposal grants their every wish,” Warren said.
“It’ll mean bigger payouts for megabank shareholders and executives, less lending to small businesses and families, and a banking system even more prone to devastating crashes and taxpayer bailouts.”The initiative has been spearheaded by Michelle Bowman, a Fed governor and the central bank’s vice-chair for supervision, who Donald Trump appointed last year.In a speech at the Cato Institute last week, Bowman said the changes would provide “more efficient regulation and banks that are better positioned to support economic growth”.“Following the 2008 financial crisis, regulators implemented reforms that substantially increased bank capital and strengthened financial system resilience,” Bowman said.“While these initial reforms were necessary, experience shows requirements that overly calibrate low-risk activities produce unintended consequences.
”The changes will be a major revision to Basel III, global banking regulations that were set up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in 2023, US regulators were looking to tighten Basel III and make large banks hold more capital.But the major banks pushed back aggressively, arguing in 2024 that they helped stabilize the economy after SVB’s fall and that stronger regulations could lead more businesses to riskier lines of credit.“It’s time to fight back,” Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan, said at the time, adding that banks fear a “fight with their regulators, because they would just come and punish you more”.The winds of regulation changed when Bowman replaced Michael Barr, a Fed governor who was the head of banking supervision under Joe Biden and was a staunch advocate for tighter capital requirements.
Markets keep the faith – but oil staying above $100 could test that optimism | Nils Pratley
Was it only at the new year that the fanfare was heard for the FTSE 100 index breaking through 10,000 for the first time? It was – on 2 January – and the index then added another 900 points by the end of February. On Thursday, the Footsie briefly fell below that round number as Iran struck Qatar’s enormous Ras Laffan complex, which normally supplies a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, before closing at 10,063, down 2.3% on the day.There are two ways to view that price action. One is to say the sharp reversal from the peak represents a necessarily severe reaction to the war on Iran
US moves to soften capital rules: ‘Big banks can declare mission accomplished’
US federal regulators are trying to soften bank requirements, loosening the amount of capital US banks must have, in what would be some of the biggest changes to bank restrictions since the 2008 financial crisis and a huge win for financial institutions.On Thursday, US Federal Reserve officials are expected to vote to lower capital requirements – the funds they need to cover risky assets – for the biggest banks by 4.8%, which could free up capital for banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.Larger regional banks like PNC would see their requirements drop by 5.2%, while requirements banks with less than $100bn in assets would fall by 7
Cryptocurrency firms suffer heavy losses in Illinois primaries after spending big
The cryptocurrency industry spent big and lost often in this week’s Illinois primaries.As the industry prepares to make massive donations in the 2026 midterm elections to replicate its success in 2024, the Illinois losses mark an early setback for firms that are trying to establish themselves as power players in American politics.Crypto companies flooded the state’s Democratic primaries with millions of dollars to promote candidates they believed would have a light touch when it came to regulating digital assets. AI firms, meanwhile, backed opposing candidates and seemed to cancel each other out.Using Super Pacs that are allowed to spend unlimited sums of money, crypto and AI companies ran television advertising and distributed campaign fliers that only occasionally alluded to their industries
Lack of funding is stifling scientific research | Letter
Liz Kendall is right to warn that the UK must not let quantum computing talent slip through its fingers (UK must learn lessons from AI race and retain its quantum computing talent, says minister, 17 March).However, UK Research and Innovation’s current funding decisions risk doing exactly that.The government has announced £1bn for quantum computing, but it is cutting support for fundamental research in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics (PPAN). These are not separate issues. It is precisely the kind of blue-sky research funded through PPAN that trains the scientists and develops the ideas that underpin emerging technologies like quantum computing
Keely Hodgkinson leads British medal hopes at world indoor championships
Due to a fault in their plane’s GPS, the British team for the world indoor championships arrived at their hotel in Torun late on Wednesday night. Perhaps they should have asked Keely Hodgkinson to guide them. After all, she knows this place better than most, and she is absolutely locked on reaching her target – a first world gold medal – this weekend.“I’m looking forward to it and this last month has been great,” she says on the eve of the championships, which begin on Friday morning. “I couldn’t ask to be in a better position to be honest
Meg Jones to captain England at Women’s Six Nations with Zoe Stratford pregnant
Meg Jones has been chosen to lead England’s world champions in 2026 after the regular Red Roses captain, Zoe Stratford, announced her pregnancy on Wednesday.Jones, who was vice-captain when England beat Canada to lift the World Cup last September, will take over from Stratford for the upcoming Women’s Six Nations. England kick off their campaign against Ireland on 11 April at Twickenham when a tournament-record crowd of more than 60,000 will be in the stands.The 29-year-old centre said: “Firstly, I’m really excited for Zoe and wish her and Strats [Luke, Zoe’s husband] every happiness on their news. It’s a huge honour to have been named captain of the Red Roses
Prolonged high oil prices could ‘crimp’ AI boom, WTO warns
Europe’s biggest airlines say fuel price spike caused by Iran war will drive up fares
BoE delivers message Britons don’t want to hear as inflation – and rates – look set to rise
Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75% and signals rise is possible within months
PwC partners who fail to embrace AI have no future at firm, US CEO warns
BP to sell German oil refinery as part of $20bn cost-cutting plan