§ 217.10 - Minimum capital requirements.

§ 217.10 Minimum capital requirements.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 88 FR 82968, Nov. 27, 2023.

(a) Minimum capital requirements.

(1) A Board-regulated institution must maintain the following minimum capital ratios:

(i) A common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5 percent.

(ii) A tier 1 capital ratio of 6 percent.

(iii) A total capital ratio of 8 percent.

(iv) A leverage ratio of 4 percent.

(v) For advanced approaches Board-regulated institutions or, for Category III Board-regulated institutions, a supplementary leverage ratio of 3 percent.

(2) A qualifying community banking organization (as defined in § 217.12), that is subject to the community bank leverage ratio framework (as defined § 217.12), is considered to have met the minimum capital requirements in this paragraph (a) of this section.

(b) Standardized capital ratio calculations. Other than as provided in paragraph (c) of this section:

(1) Common equity tier 1 capital ratio. A Board-regulated institution's common equity tier 1 capital ratio is the ratio of the Board-regulated institution's common equity tier 1 capital to standardized total risk-weighted assets;

(2) Tier 1 capital ratio. A Board-regulated institution's tier 1 capital ratio is the ratio of the Board-regulated institution's tier 1 capital to standardized total risk-weighted assets;

(3) Total capital ratio. A Board-regulated institution's total capital ratio is the ratio of the Board-regulated institution's total capital to standardized total risk-weighted assets; and

(4) Leverage ratio. A Board-regulated institution's leverage ratio is the ratio of the Board-regulated institution's tier 1 capital to the Board-regulated institution's average total consolidated assets as reported on the Board-regulated institution's Call Report, for a state member bank, or the Consolidated Financial Statements for Bank Holding Companies (FR Y–9C), for a bank holding company or savings and loan holding company, as applicable minus amounts deducted from tier 1 capital under § 217.22(a), (c) and (d).

(c) Supplementary leverage ratio.

(1) A Category III Board-regulated institution or advanced approaches Board-regulated institution must determine its supplementary leverage ratio in accordance with this paragraph, beginning with the calendar quarter immediately following the quarter in which the Board-regulated institution is identified as a Category III Board-regulated institution. An advanced approaches Board-regulated institution's or a Category III Board-regulated institution's supplementary leverage ratio is the ratio of its tier 1 capital to total leverage exposure, the latter of which is calculated as the sum of:

(i) The mean of the on-balance sheet assets calculated as of each day of the reporting quarter; and

(ii) The mean of the off-balance sheet exposures calculated as of the last day of each of the most recent three months, minus the applicable deductions under § 217.22(a), (c), and (d).

(2) For purposes of this part, total leverage exposure means the sum of the items described in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) through (viii) of this section, as adjusted pursuant to paragraph (c)(2)(ix) of this section for a clearing member Board-regulated institution and paragraph (c)(2)(x) of this section for a custodial banking organization:

(i) The balance sheet carrying value of all of the Board-regulated institution's on-balance sheet assets, plus the value of securities sold under a repurchase transaction or a securities lending transaction that qualifies for sales treatment under GAAP, less amounts deducted from tier 1 capital under § 217.22(a), (c), and (d), and less the value of securities received in security-for-security repo-style transactions, where the Board-regulated institution acts as a securities lender and includes the securities received in its on-balance sheet assets but has not sold or re-hypothecated the securities received, and, for a Board-regulated institution that uses the standardized approach for counterparty credit risk under § 217.132(c) for its standardized risk-weighted assets, less the fair value of any derivative contracts;

(ii)

(A) For a Board-regulated institution that uses the current exposure methodology under § 217.34(b) for its standardized risk-weighted assets, the potential future credit exposure (PFE) for each derivative contract or each single-product netting set of derivative contracts (including a cleared transaction except as provided in paragraph (c)(2)(ix) of this section and, at the discretion of the Board-regulated institution, excluding a forward agreement treated as a derivative contract that is part of a repurchase or reverse repurchase or a securities borrowing or lending transaction that qualifies for sales treatment under GAAP), to which the Board-regulated institution is a counterparty as determined under § 217.34, but without regard to § 217.34(c), provided that:

(1) A Board-regulated institution may choose to exclude the PFE of all credit derivatives or other similar instruments through which it provides credit protection when calculating the PFE under § 217.34, but without regard to § 217.34(c), provided that it does not adjust the net-to-gross ratio (NGR); and

(2) A Board-regulated institution that chooses to exclude the PFE of credit derivatives or other similar instruments through which it provides credit protection pursuant to paragraph (c)(2)(ii)(A) of this section must do so consistently over time for the calculation of the PFE for all such instruments; or

(B)

(1) For a Board-regulated institution that uses the standardized approach for counterparty credit risk under section § 217.132(c) for its standardized risk-weighted assets, the PFE for each netting set to which the Board-regulated institution is a counterparty (including cleared transactions except as provided in paragraph (c)(2)(ix) of this section and, at the discretion of the Board-regulated institution, excluding a forward agreement treated as a derivative contract that is part of a repurchase or reverse repurchase or a securities borrowing or lending transaction that qualifies for sales treatment under GAAP), as determined under § 217.132(c)(7), in which the term C in § 217.132(c)(7)(i) equals zero, and, for any counterparty that is not a commercial end-user, multiplied by 1.4. For purposes of this paragraph (c)(2)(ii)(B)(1), a Board-regulated institution may set the value of the term C in § 217.132(c)(7)(i) equal to the amount of collateral posted by a clearing member client of the Board-regulated institution in connection with the client-facing derivative transactions within the netting set; and

(2) A Board-regulated institution may choose to exclude the PFE of all credit derivatives or other similar instruments through which it provides credit protection when calculating the PFE under § 217.132(c), provided that it does so consistently over time for the calculation of the PFE for all such instruments;

(iii)

(A)

(1) For a Board-regulated institution that uses the current exposure methodology under § 217.34(b) for its standardized risk-weighted assets, the amount of cash collateral that is received from a counterparty to a derivative contract and that has offset the mark-to-fair value of the derivative asset, or cash collateral that is posted to a counterparty to a derivative contract and that has reduced the Board-regulated institution's on-balance sheet assets, unless such cash collateral is all or part of variation margin that satisfies the conditions in paragraphs (c)(2)(iii)(C) through (G) of this section; and

(2) The variation margin is used to reduce the current credit exposure of the derivative contract, calculated as described in § 217.34(b), and not the PFE; and

(3) For the purpose of the calculation of the NGR described in § 217.34(b)(2)(ii)(B), variation margin described in paragraph (c)(2)(iii)(A)(2) of this section may not reduce the net current credit exposure or the gross current credit exposure; or

(B)

(1) For a Board-regulated institution that uses the standardized approach for counterparty credit risk under § 217.132(c) for its standardized risk-weighted assets, the replacement cost of each derivative contract or single product netting set of derivative contracts to which the Board-regulated institution is a counterparty, calculated according to the following formula, and, for any counterparty that is not a commercial end-user, multiplied by 1.4:

Replacement Cost = max{V−CVM_r + CVM_p;0}

Where:

V equals the fair value for each derivative contract or each single-product netting set of derivative contracts (including a cleared transaction except as provided in paragraph (c)(2)(ix) of this section and, at the discretion of the Board-regulated institution, excluding a forward agreement treated as a derivative contract that is part of a repurchase or reverse repurchase or a securities borrowing or lending transaction that qualifies for sales treatment under GAAP);

CVM_r equals the amount of cash collateral received from a counterparty to a derivative contract and that satisfies the conditions in paragraphs (c)(2)(iii)(C) through (G) of this section, or, in the case of a client-facing derivative transaction, the amount of collateral received from the clearing member client; and

CVM_p equals the amount of cash collateral that is posted to a counterparty to a derivative contract and that has not offset the fair value of the derivative contract and that satisfies the conditions in paragraphs (c)(2)(iii)(C) through (G) of this section, or, in the case of a client-facing derivative transaction, the amount of collateral posted to the clearing member client;

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (c)(2)(iii)(B)(1) of this section, where multiple netting sets are subject to a single variation margin agreement, a Board-regulated institution must apply the formula for replacement cost provided in § 217.132(c)(10)(i), in which the term C_MA may only include cash collateral that satisfies the conditions in paragraphs (c)(2)(iii)(C) through (G) of this section; and

(3) For purposes of paragraph (c)(2)(iii)(B)(1), a Board-regulated institution must treat a derivative contract that references an index as if it were multiple derivative contracts each referencing one component of the index if the Board-regulated institution elected to treat the derivative contract as multiple derivative contracts under § 217.132(c)(5)(vi);

(C) For derivative contracts that are not cleared through a QCCP, the cash collateral received by the recipient counterparty is not segregated (by law, regulation, or an agreement with the counterparty);

(D) Variation margin is calculated and transferred on a daily basis based on the mark-to-fair value of the derivative contract;

(E) The variation margin transferred under the derivative contract or the governing rules of the CCP or QCCP for a cleared transaction is the full amount that is necessary to fully extinguish the net current credit exposure to the counterparty of the derivative contracts, subject to the threshold and minimum transfer amounts applicable to the counterparty under the terms of the derivative contract or the governing rules for a cleared transaction;

(F) The variation margin is in the form of cash in the same currency as the currency of settlement set forth in the derivative contract, provided that for the purposes of this paragraph (c)(2)(iii)(F), currency of settlement means any currency for settlement specified in the governing qualifying master netting agreement and the credit support annex to the qualifying master netting agreement, or in the governing rules for a cleared transaction; and

(G) The derivative contract and the variation margin are governed by a qualifying master netting agreement between the legal entities that are the counterparties to the derivative contract or by the governing rules for a cleared transaction, and the qualifying master netting agreement or the governing rules for a cleared transaction must explicitly stipulate that the counterparties agree to settle any payment obligations on a net basis, taking into account any variation margin received or provided under the contract if a credit event involving either counterparty occurs;

(iv) The effective notional principal amount (that is, the apparent or stated notional principal amount multiplied by any multiplier in the derivative contract) of a credit derivative, or other similar instrument, through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection, provided that:

(A) The Board-regulated institution may reduce the effective notional principal amount of the credit derivative by the amount of any reduction in the mark-to-fair value of the credit derivative if the reduction is recognized in common equity tier 1 capital;

(B) The Board-regulated institution may reduce the effective notional principal amount of the credit derivative by the effective notional principal amount of a purchased credit derivative or other similar instrument, provided that the remaining maturity of the purchased credit derivative is equal to or greater than the remaining maturity of the credit derivative through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection and that:

(1) With respect to a credit derivative that references a single exposure, the reference exposure of the purchased credit derivative is to the same legal entity and ranks pari passu with, or is junior to, the reference exposure of the credit derivative through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection; or

(2) With respect to a credit derivative that references multiple exposures, the reference exposures of the purchased credit derivative are to the same legal entities and rank pari passu with the reference exposures of the credit derivative through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection, and the level of seniority of the purchased credit derivative ranks pari passu to the level of seniority of the credit derivative through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection;

(3) Where a Board-regulated institution has reduced the effective notional amount of a credit derivative through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection in accordance with paragraph (c)(2)(iv)(A) of this section, the Board-regulated institution must also reduce the effective notional principal amount of a purchased credit derivative used to offset the credit derivative through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection, by the amount of any increase in the mark-to-fair value of the purchased credit derivative that is recognized in common equity tier 1 capital; and

(4) Where the Board-regulated institution purchases credit protection through a total return swap and records the net payments received on a credit derivative through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection in net income, but does not record offsetting deterioration in the mark-to-fair value of the credit derivative through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection in net income (either through reductions in fair value or by additions to reserves), the Board-regulated institution may not use the purchased credit protection to offset the effective notional principal amount of the related credit derivative through which the Board-regulated institution provides credit protection;

(v) Where a Board-regulated institution acting as a principal has more than one repo-style transaction with the same counterparty and has offset the gross value of receivables due from a counterparty under reverse repurchase transactions by the gross value of payables under repurchase transactions due to the same counterparty, the gross value of receivables associated with the repo-style transactions less any on-balance sheet receivables amount associated with these repo-style transactions included under paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section, unless the following criteria are met:

(A) The offsetting transactions have the same explicit final settlement date under their governing agreements;

(B) The right to offset the amount owed to the counterparty with the amount owed by the counterparty is legally enforceable in the normal course of business and in the event of receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding; and

(C) Under the governing agreements, the counterparties intend to settle net, settle simultaneously, or settle according to a process that is the functional equivalent of net settlement, (that is, the cash flows of the transactions are equivalent, in effect, to a single net amount on the settlement date), where both transactions are settled through the same settlement system, the settlement arrangements are supported by cash or intraday credit facilities intended to ensure that settlement of both transactions will occur by the end of the business day, and the settlement of the underlying securities does not interfere with the net cash settlement;

(vi) The counterparty credit risk of a repo-style transaction, including where the Board-regulated institution acts as an agent for a repo-style transaction and indemnifies the customer with respect to the performance of the customer's counterparty in an amount limited to the difference between the fair value of the security or cash its customer has lent and the fair value of the collateral the borrower has provided, calculated as follows:

(A) If the transaction is not subject to a qualifying master netting agreement, the counterparty credit risk (E*) for transactions with a counterparty must be calculated on a transaction by transaction basis, such that each transaction i is treated as its own netting set, in accordance with the following formula, where E_i is the fair value of the instruments, gold, or cash that the Board-regulated institution has lent, sold subject to repurchase, or provided as collateral to the counterparty, and C_i is the fair value of the instruments, gold, or cash that the Board-regulated institution has borrowed, purchased subject to resale, or received as collateral from the counterparty:

E_i* = max {0, [E_i − C_i]}; and

(B) If the transaction is subject to a qualifying master netting agreement, the counterparty credit risk (E*) must be calculated as the greater of zero and the total fair value of the instruments, gold, or cash that the Board-regulated institution has lent, sold subject to repurchase or provided as collateral to a counterparty for all transactions included in the qualifying master netting agreement (ΣE_i), less the total fair value of the instruments, gold, or cash that the Board-regulated institution borrowed, purchased subject to resale or received as collateral from the counterparty for those transactions (ΣC_i), in accordance with the following formula:

E* = max {0, [ΣE_i − ΣC_i]}

(vii) If a Board-regulated institution acting as an agent for a repo-style transaction provides a guarantee to a customer of the security or cash its customer has lent or borrowed with respect to the performance of the customer's counterparty and the guarantee is not limited to the difference between the fair value of the security or cash its customer has lent and the fair value of the collateral the borrower has provided, the amount of the guarantee that is greater than the difference between the fair value of the security or cash its customer has lent and the value of the collateral the borrower has provided;

(viii) The credit equivalent amount of all off-balance sheet exposures of the Board-regulated institution, excluding repo-style transactions, repurchase or reverse repurchase or securities borrowing or lending transactions that qualify for sales treatment under GAAP, and derivative transactions, determined using the applicable credit conversion factor under § 217.33(b), provided, however, that the minimum credit conversion factor that may be assigned to an off-balance sheet exposure under this paragraph is 10 percent; and

(ix) For a Board-regulated institution that is a clearing member:

(A) A clearing member Board-regulated institution that guarantees the performance of a clearing member client with respect to a cleared transaction must treat its exposure to the clearing member client as a derivative contract for purposes of determining its total leverage exposure;

(B) A clearing member Board-regulated institution that guarantees the performance of a CCP with respect to a transaction cleared on behalf of a clearing member client must treat its exposure to the CCP as a derivative contract for purposes of determining its total leverage exposure;

(C) A clearing member Board-regulated institution that does not guarantee the performance of a CCP with respect to a transaction cleared on behalf of a clearing member client may exclude its exposure to the CCP for purposes of determining its total leverage exposure;

(D) A Board-regulated institution that is a clearing member may exclude from its total leverage exposure the effective notional principal amount of credit protection sold through a credit derivative contract, or other similar instrument, that it clears on behalf of a clearing member client through a CCP as calculated in accordance with paragraph (c)(2)(iv) of this section; and

(E) Notwithstanding paragraphs (c)(2)(ix)(A) through (C) of this section, a Board-regulated institution may exclude from its total leverage exposure a clearing member's exposure to a clearing member client for a derivative contract, if the clearing member client and the clearing member are affiliates and consolidated for financial reporting purposes on the Board-regulated institution's balance sheet.

(x) A custodial banking organization shall exclude from its total leverage exposure the lesser of:

(A) The amount of funds that the custodial banking organization has on deposit at a qualifying central bank; and

(B) The amount of funds in deposit accounts at the custodial banking organization that are linked to fiduciary or custodial and safekeeping accounts at the custodial banking organization. For purposes of this paragraph (c)(2)(x), a deposit account is linked to a fiduciary or custodial and safekeeping account if the deposit account is provided to a client that maintains a fiduciary or custodial and safekeeping account with the custodial banking organization, and the deposit account is used to facilitate the administration of the fiduciary or custodial and safekeeping account.

(d) Advanced approaches capital ratio calculations. An advanced approaches Board-regulated institution that has completed the parallel run process and received notification from the Board pursuant to § 217.121(d) must determine its regulatory capital ratios as described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (3) of this section.

(1) Common equity tier 1 capital ratio. The Board-regulated institution's common equity tier 1 capital ratio is the lower of:

(i) The ratio of the Board-regulated institution's common equity tier 1 capital to standardized total risk-weighted assets; and

(ii) The ratio of the Board-regulated institution's common equity tier 1 capital to advanced approaches total risk-weighted assets.

(2) Tier 1 capital ratio. The Board-regulated institution's tier 1 capital ratio is the lower of:

(i) The ratio of the Board-regulated institution's tier 1 capital to standardized total risk-weighted assets; and

(ii) The ratio of the Board-regulated institution's tier 1 capital to advanced approaches total risk-weighted assets.

(3) Total capital ratio. The Board-regulated institution's total capital ratio is the lower of:

(i) The ratio of the Board-regulated institution's total capital to standardized total risk-weighted assets; and

(ii) The ratio of the Board-regulated institution's advanced-approaches-adjusted total capital to advanced approaches total risk-weighted assets. A Board-regulated institution's advanced-approaches-adjusted total capital is the Board-regulated institution's total capital after being adjusted as follows:

(A) An advanced approaches Board-regulated institution must deduct from its total capital any allowance for loan and lease losses or adjusted allowance for credit losses, as applicable, included in its tier 2 capital in accordance with § 217.20(d)(3); and

(B) An advanced approaches Board-regulated institution must add to its total capital any eligible credit reserves that exceed the Board-regulated institution's total expected credit losses to the extent that the excess reserve amount does not exceed 0.6 percent of the Board-regulated institution's credit risk-weighted assets.

(e) Capital adequacy.

(1) Notwithstanding the minimum requirements in this part, a Board-regulated institution must maintain capital commensurate with the level and nature of all risks to which the Board-regulated institution is exposed. The supervisory evaluation of the Board-regulated institution's capital adequacy is based on an individual assessment of numerous factors, including the character and condition of the institution's assets and its existing and prospective liabilities and other corporate responsibilities.

(2) A Board-regulated institution must have a process for assessing its overall capital adequacy in relation to its risk profile and a comprehensive strategy for maintaining an appropriate level of capital.

(f) Insurance depository institution holding companies. Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section:

(1) An insurance bank holding company that is a state-regulated insurer, or an insurance savings and loan holding company that is a state-regulated insurer, is not required to meet the minimum capital ratio requirements in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (iii) of this section if the company is subject to subpart J of this part; and

(2) A Board-regulated institution that is an insurance bank holding company, insurance savings and loan holding company, or insurance mid-tier holding company is not required to meet the minimum capital ratio requirements in paragraphs (a)(1)(iv) and (v) of this section.

[Reg. Q, 78 FR 62157, 62285, Oct. 11, 2013, as amended at 78 FR 62286, Oct. 11, 2013; 79 FR 57744, Sept. 26, 2014; 80 FR 41419, July 15, 2015; 84 FR 4242, Feb. 14, 2019; 84 FR 35259, July 22, 2019; 84 FR 59271, Nov. 1, 2019; 84 FR 61797, Nov. 13, 2019; 85 FR 4416, Jan. 24, 2020; 85 FR 4578, Jan. 27, 2020; 85 FR 57961, Sept. 17, 2020; 86 FR 732, Jan. 6, 2021; 88 FR 82968, Nov. 27, 2023]