REMARKS BY FDIC CHAIRMAN TRAVIS HILL: AN UPDATE ON REFORMS TO THE REGULATORY TOOLKIT
The following information was released by the
Introduction
It's great to join the ABA again for its
Supervision Reform
To start, reforming supervision continues to be a top priority at the FDIC.Unlike some of our other efforts to make regulations more fit for purpose, reforming supervision involves more than simply publishing new rules.Given the nature of the supervisory process, fundamentally remodeling how we approach supervision requires a variety of measures.
Over the past few months, we (1) issued a joint proposal with the OCC defining "unsafe or unsound practices" and "matters requiring attention;"1 (2) issued instructions to examiners to refocus examinations on material financial risks and violations of laws and regulations, which will be updated once the rulemaking with the OCC is finalized; (3) initiated a "lookback" of all outstanding supervisory recommendations for consistency with the new supervisory approach; and (4) made significant progress on interagency reforms to the CAMELS rating system, which we hope to propose in the coming weeks.We also have ongoing workstreams dedicated to overhauling the training we provide our examiners and updating our examination manuals to reflect the recent and forthcoming changes.The result of these initiatives is not lenient supervision; it is supervision focused on the things that truly matter.
While most of our attention related to supervision reform thus far has been on safety and soundness examinations, the
In the coming weeks and months, we plan to look closely at a range of additional improvements to our consumer compliance supervision program.Today, that process continues to be highly-process driven, with significant focus on a bank's compliance management system (CMS) and considerable emphasis on policies, procedures, and training, rather than on actual outcomes. Our goal is to reorient our focus more towards noncompliance with laws and regulations, and actual harm to consumers, as opposed to policies and procedures, training, and other process-related considerations.
We also plan to address the breadth of
Additionally, we clearly need to increase the dollar thresholds that dictate the severity of violations, which trigger meaningful consequences.Today, the highest, most severe violations are those that result in aggregate "harm" to consumers of more than
Overall, we continue to believe in the importance of banks treating their customers fairly and acting in compliance with the law, but we will explore these reforms and others to make consumer compliance examinations less process-driven and more effective.
Next I'll turn to regulatory capital, where we continue to work to better align our capital standards with risks. Last fall, the banking agencies finalized changes to the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio (eSLR)6 and proposed modifications to the community bank leverage ratio (CBLR),7 which we intend to finalize in the near future.
Soon, we will turn to the risk-based capital standards, which will be the subject of two proposals the banking agencies plan to issue later this month. One proposal would generally implement the 2017 Basel agreement,8 while deviating in certain areas in which the international agreement does not work for the
Although that proposal would be mandatory for only the largest banks (though any bank would be able to opt in), the banking agencies also plan to issue a second proposal that would improve risk sensitivity for all banks (other than CBLR banks), particularly in critical lending categories such as residential mortgage lending, consumer lending, and corporate lending. The intended result is more lending and a more level regulatory playing field between the largest and smaller institutions. Additionally, proposed enhancements to the securitization framework and recognition of collateral are consistent across both proposals, which further support a level regulatory playing field.
Strong capital rules continue to play a vital role in promoting a strong and resilient banking system and robust economic growth. The
Liquidity
We have also been working with the other banking agencies on potential modifications to liquidity requirements. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) requires certain large banks10 to hold sufficient unencumbered high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) to meet projected net cash outflows over a prospective 30-day stress period.
The LCR, which was issued by the banking agencies over a decade ago, is intended to improve a bank's resilience to a short-term liquidity stress event. Yet, the
To address these gaps, the
More generally, at the
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) / Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
Another key priority is revamping our approach to anti-money laundering. In 2021,
At its core, the Act sought to better align regulation with risk.16 It emphasized national AML/CFT priorities,17 directed regulators to streamline suspicious activity reporting,encouraged greater information sharing,18 and, importantly, recognized that innovation and technology must play a central role in modernizing compliance.19
The vision was smarter regulation.
But when the agencies released a proposal to update the "Program Rule" in 2024,20 the proposal fell well short of the Act's goals.21 If we are serious about stopping illicit finance, we must be serious about prioritization. Every compliance dollar spent on low-risk, low-value activity is a dollar not spent on detecting frauds and scams that are increasingly industrial in scale, sophisticated money laundering networks, fentanyl and child sex trafficking, or terrorism financing. The goal is to enable banks to devote more time, talent, and technology to the areas that present the highest risk. With the
At the same time, we are also focused on the tremendous promise of innovation to improve the BSA regime. AI and other new technologies can identify suspicious activity with a speed and precision that legacy "rules-based" systems cannot match.22 These tools can elevate real risk signals and reduce false positives, allowing investigators to focus on what truly matters.23 I have heard of some reluctance to adopt these technologies because of fear that examiners will require parallel technology runs, play "gotcha" for past failures that new technologies reveal, or impose costly proofs of performance. At the
Technology can also be harnessed to improve customer identification. We have provided some regulatory clarity in this area like allowing for pre-population of customer information24 and providing an exemption from the need to collect full social security numbers from customers,25 but more can be done. As
Stablecoins
The
Pass-through insurance, which has existed throughout the
The GENIUS Act makes clear that payment stablecoins are not "subject to deposit insurance" or guaranteed by the
The GENIUS Act is silent on whether
As a result, the
It is difficult to estimate the extent to which stablecoin arrangements would qualify for pass-through insurance if they were eligible. For example, current pass-through insurance rules require that the identities and interests of end-customers must be ascertainable in the regular course,33 which is not a common feature of large stablecoin arrangements today.
If stablecoin arrangements were (1) eligible and (2) able to qualify for pass-through insurance, this could, at least on the margins, (1) make payment stablecoins more attractive, (2) make holding reserves in
As part of the same proposal, the
We also continue to work on a range of initiatives to improve our readiness to resolve failed banks. This includes improvements to both our internal capabilities and our regulations. With respect to the latter, we expect to propose significant changes to our IDI resolution planning rule36 later this spring. Today, I will briefly mention separate work underway to address one specific resolution-related gap.
Consider the following hypothetical, loosely inspired by real-world events that occurred almost exactly three years ago.37 Suppose a large bank fails with virtually no notice or runway.Initially, there is little appetite among banks to bid on the failed institution, and the few bids that arrive come in at a steep cost to the DIF. Meanwhile, there are one or more nonbank entities with an interest in buying the entire failed bank from the
We are working on two policy changes to try to address this issue. First, we soon plan to rescind the
Second, we are exploring with the other banking agencies the possibility of establishing an emergency exception that would enable a nonbank to rapidly set up a shelf charter to bid on a failed institution following a sudden failure. Today, the shelf charter process which includes approvals for (1) a shelf charter from a chartering authority, (2) deposit insurance from the
Conclusion
Thank you again for the time today. As we advance our priorities in these areas and others, we will continue to promote a pro-growth agenda that supports a dynamic banking system, while still upholding our core safety and soundness mission.
1
2
3
4 See supra note 1.
5
6
7
8
9
10 The LCR generally applies to banking organizations with
11 Even historical bank runs at institutions like Continental Illinois, Washington Mutual, and IndyMac occurred over less than two weeks.
12 SeeTravis Hill,Reflections on Bank Regulatory and Resolution Issues (
13 SeeStatement from Acting Chairman
14 See generally William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act, Pub. L. No. 116-283, 134 Stat. 3388 (
15 See, e.g.,
16 See, e.g., id.at 15 (discussing, for example, Section 6216, which requires the Secretary of the
17 SeeFinancial Crimes Enforcement Network,Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism National Priorities, FinCEN (
18 See supranote 15, at 6-7 (indicating that the AMLA "codifies opportunities for public-private information sharing, including through 'FinCEN Exchange' (6103), a new Subcommittee on Innovation and Technology under the
19 SeeConference Report to Accompany H.R. 6395, H.Rept. 116-617, at 2137-38 (
20
21 See
22 See, e.g., IR,AI Transaction Monitoring and how it works: Complete Guide 2025,(discussing how AI transaction monitoring works and how it improves speed and accuracy to facilitate better oversight).
23 See e.g.,
24
25
26
27 All references to "stablecoin" refer to "payment stablecoin" as defined by the GENIUS Act. See12 U.S.C. 5901(22).
28 See generallyFederal
29 In other words, the issuer's account(s) would generally be insured at
30 12 U.S.C. 5903(e)(1) ("Payment stablecoins shall not be backed by the full faith and credit of
31 12 U.S.C. 5903(e)(2). Section 4(a)(9) further prohibits an issuer marketing a payment stablecoin in a manner that could imply that stablecoins are "guaranteed or approved by the Government of
32 Furthermore, unlike existing pass-through arrangements, where funds generally leave the deposit account when an end-customer withdraws or transfers funds, with a payment stablecoin, the stablecoins will primarily transfer from party to party without funds ever leaving the deposit account.
33 12 C.F.R. 330.5(b)(2).
34 If we follow the flow of funds, if a customer purchases a stablecoin from a stablecoin issuer, the funds flow from the customer's bank account to the issuer's bank account.If the issuer uses funds to buy
35 See12 U.S.C. 5901(22)(B)(ii).
36 See12 C.F.R. 360.10.
37
38 See12 U.S.C. 371c, 12 U.S.C. 371c-1.
39 For the most recent shelf charter applicant, it took approximately 22 months from the time the chartering authority first received the initial application until the



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