In January, the Federal Reserve published hundreds of replies to its consultation to hike capital levels for US banks with more than $100bn in assets, aka Basel Endgame.
Judging by the anguished comments, such a hike would be a death knell to the banking industry. Public markets, which power the world’s largest economy, would dry up faster than the Sahara as banks would be forced to run for shade. Lenders warn of having to charge higher rates or even down tools, an “adverse consequence” of beefing up the country’s banking system with more capital buffers.
