The Vice Chairman of The Fed Appears to Reveal the Banking Sector Empowerment Plan!

<p>&nbsp;The Federal Reserve's top regulatory official unveiled a comprehensive plan to increase capital requirements for the nation's banks, saying recent bank failures underscore the need for regulators to increase resilience in the system.</p><p><br /></p><p>In a widely anticipated speech, Fed Vice Chairman for Supervision Michael Barr said he plans to pursue a range of regulatory initiatives that would direct larger banks to hold more reserves and meet stricter supervisory requirements.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Barr said he did not plan to overhaul the US bank capital framework, but instead build on it in several ways, including by fully implementing international bank capital agreements and expanding annual "stress tests" of bank health.</p><p><br /></p><p>He also wants to apply stricter capital rules for banks with more than $100 billion in assets, expanding the pool of firms that must comply, adding he has no plans to loosen existing capital rules for global systemic banks that the industry is seeking.</p><p><br /></p><p>He added that most banks already have enough capital to meet the new standards he envisions, but firms that must raise capital will be able to do so in less than two years of retained earnings, while maintaining their investors' dividends.</p>