Revising community bank capital standards and addressing check fraud are top priorities for the Federal Reserve, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said.
Regulatory Progress: Speaking in New York, Bowman cited progress on multiple fronts in recent months, including removing reputational risk from the examination toolkit, seeking public input on payments fraud to coordinate a response, and reviewing regulatory reporting requirements.
More to Come: Nonetheless, Bowman said the Fed has much work left to do, including improving the mergers and acquisitions process; reviewing the appropriateness of capital requirements for all banks, including revising the community bank leverage ratio and approaches for mutual banks; and addressing payments and check fraud.
Recent Remarks: OCC and FDIC leaders recently said they plan to focus on improving the regulatory framework for community banks, including making changes to the CBLR. Bowman previously said the Fed has started looking at elements of the bank regulatory framework unique to community banks.
ICBA Input: ICBA in July shared near-term regulatory priorities in a letter to Bowman, including fixing broken regulations harming communities and reducing the community bank leverage ratio.