A few members of the United States Congress are requesting the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examine the role U.S. federal banking agencies played in the Basel III international capital standards. Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry and Monetary Policy Subcommittee Chairman Andy Barr are criticizing the global regulatory capital requirements and related U.S. implementation proposals.

The committee chairmen are questioning the transparency of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), how the international standards were developed, and the use of those standards in the creation of the U.S. proposed capital rules. Their request for a GAO review comes after the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), jointly proposed new rules which would require significant changes to the US regulatory capital regime for the largest US banks by July 2025.

As national level governments continue to review and implement Basel III standards, World Council in collaboration with its members, continue to encourage proportional and properly tailored standards for credit unions. Click here to read the joint letter from World Council and Credit Union National Association (CUNA) urging proportionality in the U.S. approach to Basel III for credit unions.