The US House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on the Trump Administration’s revised bank capital proposals, including Basel III measures, focusing on whether the 2026 framework is better calibrated than the 2023 proposal to preserve safety and soundness without unduly constraining lending, market making and clearing activity. Members leading the hearing and industry witnesses argued that the revised package is more tailored and less burdensome than the 2023 version, with implications for mortgages, securitization, derivatives, agricultural hedging and broader access to credit. The most detailed comparisons concerned the analytical basis for the rules and selected capital treatments. Testimony said the 2023 proposal was issued with an eight page impact summary, while the three 2026 proposed rules include a 95 page impact and economic analysis based on the 2023 data collection effort and regulatory data through June 2025, and also assess the cumulative effect of other capital changes including the Enhanced Supplementary Leverage Ratio and proposed revisions to Federal Reserve stress testing and the stress capital buffer framework. The Mortgage Bankers Association said the newer mortgage treatment removes a capital increase of as much as 40% for loans held on banks’ balance sheets, lowers capital where borrowers have more equity and should support mortgage pricing, while also backing a reduction in the mortgage servicing asset risk weight to 100% from 250%. A Commodity Markets Council witness said the March 2026 capital proposals better preserve market liquidity and clearing capacity than the 2023 Basel III proposal.
U.S. Financial Services Committee 2026-04-29
US House Committee on Financial Services examines revised bank capital proposals against the 2023 Basel III plan
The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on the Trump Administration’s revised 2026 bank capital proposals, including Basel III measures, assessing whether they are better calibrated than the 2023 version to safeguard safety and soundness while supporting lending and market making. Lawmakers and industry witnesses argued the 2026 package is more tailored and analytically grounded, citing an expanded impact analysis and changes that reduce capital increases for mortgages, mortgage servicing assets and derivatives, with expected benefits for market liquidity and access to credit.