Divided Fed proposes rule to ease capital requirements for big Wall Street banks
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Fed Proposes Major Bank Capital Rule Cuts Despite Split Vote
Above: The Federal Reserve System logo displayed on a smartphone on June 25, 2025. Image copyright: Algi Febri Sugita/SOPA Images/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Rigid capital rules have become counterproductive shackles, preventing banks from fulfilling their essential role during crises. Easing these requirements will restore lending capacity, strengthen Treasury market resilience, and eliminate bureaucratic barriers that handicap financial institutions when America's economy needs them most. Smart regulation adapts — it doesn't strangle.
Establishment-critical narrative
Banks will exploit deregulation for shareholder enrichment, not economic benefit — channeling freed capital into dividends and bonuses rather than Treasury market support. With systemic risks mounting and Americans struggling financially, weakening the very safeguards that prevented another 2008 catastrophe represents dangerous regulatory amnesia that invites future devastation.