Crapo, Tester Call for Simplified Capital, Reporting Requirements

In a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen yesterday, Sens. Mike Crapo (R- Idaho) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) called for regulators to provide simpler capital rules and reporting requirements for community banks through the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reductions Act process, a decennial review now winding down. The lawmakers encouraged the Fed to reconsider the necessity of having four minimum capital requirements, the capital conservation buffer and the complex definition of tier 1 capital. They also raised concerns about the increased time required to complete the quarterly Call Reports.