Bill > S731

This bill, also known as the Basel III Common Sense Approach for Small Entities Act or the Basel III CASE Act, requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency—collectively referred to as the Federal banking agencies—to conduct an empirical study before finalizing any new rules related to the International Basel III agreement on general risk-based capital requirements, which are rules designed to ensure banks have enough capital to absorb unexpected losses. This study must analyze the impact of these proposed rules on community, mid-size, and regional financial institutions in the United States, including their long-term effects and any changes to how banks calculate risk. Financial institutions can voluntarily participate in this study, but they cannot be forced to provide information. After the study is completed, the agencies must make the final report public for at least three months to allow for public comment, and they will then review these comments before issuing any new rules, which will also be subject to an additional three-month public comment period.