US Agencies Temporarily Amend Supplementary Leverage Ratio Calculation

Under the interim final rule, any depository institution subsidiary of a U.S. global systemically important bank holding company or any depository institution subject to Category II or Category III capital standards may elect to temporarily exclude U.S. Treasury securities and deposits at Federal Reserve Banks from the supplementary leverage ratio denominator. Additionally, any depository institution making this election must request approval from its primary Federal banking regulator prior to making certain capital distributions so long as the exclusion is in effect. The prior approval requirement applies to distributions to be paid beginning in the third quarter of 2020. The agencies are adopting this interim final rule to allow depository institutions that elect to opt into this treatment additional flexibility to act as financial intermediaries during this period of financial disruption. The tier 1 leverage ratio is not affected by this interim final rule. 

Depository institutions subject to supplementary leverage ratio requirements report their supplementary leverage ratios in the Call Reports, Schedule RC-R, and FFIEC 101 report, Schedule A. In the near future, the agencies expect to make certain necessary revisions to the Call Reports and the FFIEC 101 report to implement the changes associated with this rule for electing depository institutions and to require such institutions to disclose the election publicly. The instructions for FR Y-9C report, Schedule HC-R, Line Item 45 (Advanced approaches holding companies only: Supplementary leverage ratio) state that respondents must report the supplementary leverage ratio from FFIEC 101 Schedule A, Table 2, Item 2.22. Therefore, revisions to the FFIEC 101 regarding how to report the supplementary leverage ratio would flow through to the FR Y-9C. Therefore, FED plans to amend the instructions for FR Y-9C as necessary. In addition, the interim final rule provides for the necessary modifications of the disclosure requirements of section 173 of the capital rule to reflect the optional temporary exclusion provided by the interim final rule.

Related Links

• FED Press Release
• Interim Final Rule
• Additional Questions (PDF)
• FDIC Financial Institution Letter

Comment Due Date: July 16, 2020

Effective Date: June 01, 2020

Keywords: Americas, US, Banking, Leverage Ratio, Supplementary Leverage Ratio, Regulatory Capital, FFIEC 101, Basel, Call Reports, FR Y-9C, Reporting, COVID-19, US Agencies