People cross the intersection of SW 8th Steet and Brickell Ave. at the Brickell neighborhood, known as the financial district, in Miami, Florida, U.S., February 23, 2023. REUTERS/Marco Bello

By Pete Schroeder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. bank regulator approved new final rules aimed at easing leverage requirements for banks, requiring firms to set aside less capital as a cushion against losses of low-risk assets.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approved the new final rules for the "enhanced supplementary leverage ratio," and other bank regulators are expected to similarly approve the new rules, which were first proposed in June.

An FDIC staff memo estimated the new rules would reduce capital overall for large global banks by $13 billion, or less than 2%. However, the depository institution subsidiaries at those banks would see capital requirements fall by an average of 27%, or $213 billion. Officials have said banks will not be able to pay more to shareholders under the relaxed rule, as the overarching holding companies remain constrained by other capital requirements.

Banks must comply with the new standard by April 1, but are permitted to voluntarily adopt the rule as early as the beginning of 2026.

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The relaxed requirement is one of the first steps by banking regulators to ease stricter rules and policies put in place following the global financial crisis. The Trump administration wants to trim rules to spur economic growth, and regulatory officials have argued the current requirements have proven too onerous and can hinder bank activities such as lending. But critics contend that easing safeguards increases financial institutions' risk and is unjustified.

The final rule is similar to the one proposed, and would require banks to set aside capital against assets based on how large a role each firm plays in the global financial system. Banks had argued the leverage requirement, which sets capital requirements blind to the riskiness of a certain asset, was meant to serve as a backstop but had increasingly become binding to bank activities thanks to the rapid rise in government debt in recent years.

Some government officials had worried an overly strict requirement could disincentivize large banks from facilitating Treasury market trading, particularly during times of stress.

The FDIC also approved a proposed rule that would lower leverage requirements for smaller banks. The proposal would trim the community bank leverage ratio, which applies to banks with less than $10 billion in assets, from 9% to 8%.

(Reporting by Pete SchroederEditing by Rod Nickel)