The Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on 19 March 2026 jointly unveiled a revised capital requirements proposal designed to implement the final leg of Basel III international standards within the United States, proposing changes that would raise the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital requirements of the largest (Category I and II) banks, including the globally systemically important banks (G-SIBs), by 1.4% under the updated endgame framework. The proposal is subject to a 90-day public consultation period.
The revised proposal follows earlier iterations of the Basel III endgame rules that drew criticism from the banking industry and several members of Congress, who argued that the original approach imposed capital burdens that were disproportionate to the risks being managed and would undermine the competitiveness of US banks relative to their international peers.
G-SIBS COULD HOLD LESS CAPITAL OVERALL
Although the endgame proposal itself would raise CET1 requirements for Category I and II banks by 1.4% on a standalone basis, the aggregate picture changes when the companion proposals on the G-SIB surcharge and stress testing methodology are taken into account. When those revisions are combined with the endgame rule, the net effect for the largest (Category I and II) banks would be a reduction of about 4.8% in CET1 capital requirements relative to current levels.
The G-SIB surcharge is a supplementary capital buffer applied to the largest and most interconnected financial institutions.
Smaller banks would see their CET1 requirements decline by about 7.8% (and Category III and IV banks by about 5.2%) under the complete package.
90-DAY CONSULTATION AND NEXT STEPS
The joint proposal will now proceed through a formal 90-day public comment window during which banks, trade associations, consumer advocacy organisations, and other interested parties will have the opportunity to submit written responses. The three agencies will review those submissions before finalising the rules.