REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's top bank watchdog defended its push to overhaul capital requirements, saying they would have a minimal impact on borrowing costs and make the industry more stable.
Michael Barr, the Fed's vice chair for supervision, told a conference in New York on Friday that the so-called "Basel endgame" proposal is mainly focused on raising capital requirements for activities like trading, rather than lending.
"Normally, we issue a proposal and then we get very detailed commentary, and we take those comment letters into account."
Banks have loudly complained about the proposal, which overhauls how banks gauge their risk and require them to set aside more capital.
Industry executives said the draft rules would force them to raise costs and potentially curb lending.
Persons:
Michael Barr, Evelyn Hockstein, Banks, Barr, Pete Schroeder, Lananh Nguyen, Chizu
Organizations:
Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, Capitol, REUTERS, Federal, Bank, National Football League, Industry, Thomson
Locations:
Washington , U.S, New York