Lafayette Reporter

Senators John Kennedy and Tim Scott, along with their Republican colleagues on the Senate Banking Committee, are urging the Biden administration to withdraw the Basel III Endgame proposal. They express serious concerns that the proposal, if implemented, would restrict billions of dollars in capital and result in costlier and more limited access to credit for millions of Americans. The senators argue that this would have severe adverse impacts on the entire U.S. economy, affecting American consumers and small businesses.

According to the senators, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC have failed to provide proper analysis or data to justify the proposed large increases in capital. They believe that these increases have not been shown to be evidentially based and are concerned about the costs they will impose across all sectors of the economy. The lawmakers also highlight specific areas that would be affected, including affordable housing, mortgage lending, small business lending, consumer lending, and access to credit cards and home equity lines of credit. They fear that U.S. companies would be at a disadvantage compared to their foreign competitors.

In their letter to the Biden administration, the senators state, "As American consumers continue to struggle with persistently high inflation, reduced access to affordable homeownership, and a slowing economy driven by the reckless spending of the Biden administration, any proposed changes to our bank regulatory framework must be based on demonstrable benefits and needs." They urge the administration to withdraw the Basel III Endgame proposal as written and call for the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC to operate in a more transparent and justified manner.

The Basel III Endgame proposal was issued in July by the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It aims to revise bank capital requirements in response to changes in international capital standards following the 2007-2009 financial crisis. The proposal would impact banks with over $100 billion in assets, particularly the largest banks in the U.S., and would change how they conduct lending and trading.

In addition to Senators Kennedy and Scott, several other Republican senators have signed the letter, including Mike Crapo, Thom Tillis, Mitch McConnell, and Lindsey Graham, among others.

The full letter can be accessed [here](link to the letter).

This article is based on the original source: [source](link to the original article).

Click this link to access more information: https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/press-releases?ID=EA59E2B4-F356-4086-A37C-11E18058ABC3