(June 26, 2025), the Federal Reserve proposed a significant easing of capital rules for large global U.S. banks—known as G-SIBs. This measure could free up a capacity of up to US$$ 6 trillion in balance sheets and release billions in capital.

The focus is on reshaping the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio (eSLR), linking capital requirements to the size of each bank's global operations. The proposal was approved by a vote of 5 to 2 at the Fed and is being led by Vice Chair for Supervision, Michelle Bowman.

📈 Expected impacts:

Morgan Stanley estimates that this could free up US$185 billion of capital from the banks it covers.

Goldman Sachs estimates that it could represent up to US$5.5 trillion in additional balance sheet space.

💵 Motivation of the Fed:

It has been argued that the eSLR had become a barrier, even for assets considered low risk—especially U.S. Treasury securities. The easing aims to increase liquidity and encourage banks to engage more in the Treasury securities market, especially during times of stress.