Consider the latest rule on capital requirements. On Tuesday, the three banking regulators finalized a proposal to have the eight largest banks double the amount of capital they hold to absorb losses on practically every asset on their books, not just the risky ones.
These companies have to stash a minimum of 5 percent of their assets, and their FDIC-insured bank subsidiaries have to squirrel away 6 percent. To hit those levels by the time the rule takes effect in 2018, regulators say the holding companies would have to raise $68 billion and the subsidiaries would need another $95 billion in capital.
