As the agencies prepare to finalize the framework for the community bank leverage ratio, the FDIC has issued a proposal for how it will assess banks for deposit insurance that elect to use the CBLR framework. Comments on the proposal are due in 60 days.
Under the proposal, CBLR banks would be assessed as small banks. They would have the option of using either CBLR tangible equity or tier 1 capital for their assessment base calculation, and using either the CBLR or the tier 1 leverage ratio that the FDIC uses to calculate an established small bank’s assessment rate. The FDIC said that it will provide an assessment estimation tool on its website to help banks determine their deposit assessment amounts under the proposal.
Additionally, the proposal clarifies that a CBLR bank that meets the definition of a custodial bank would have no change to its custodial bank deduction or reporting items required to calculate the deduction. It also clarifies that the assessment regulations would continue to reference the prompt corrective action regulations for the definitions of capital categories used in the deposit insurance assessment system, with technical amendments to align with the community bank leverage ratio proposal.
