Call Report Changes Would Seek More Data On Calculating Capital

Regulators are working on a number of changes for the March 31 call report.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council wants bankers - starting this spring - to report six figures used to calculate regulatory capital ratios.

Currently, the Report of Condition and Income does not collect all the information agencies need to figure out a bank's Tier 1, Tier 2, and total capital.

To help regulators judge banks' liquidity, the next quarterly call report also must include more data on short-term liabilities and assets.

Finally, to evaluate better the financial performance of banks with extensive credit card operations, larger banks will begin reporting securitized credit card receivables quarterly on March 31, rather than annually, as now. Banks covered by this requirement include those with foreign offices or at least $300 million of assets.

For the new items detailing capital, bankers will have to note Tier 1 capital, as well as Tier 2 capital. Total risk-based capital and total risk-weighted assets must be described, as must any excess allowance for loan and lease losses. Finally, banks will have to report average total assets.

The changes have been accepted by the banking agencies but still must be approved by the Office of Management and Budget. The revisions are spelled out in a 12-page memo examinations council executive secretary Joe M. Cleaver sent to banks Dec. 15. The memo said additional details would be made available in coming weeks.

Mr. Cleaver said the new reporting requirements do not force banks to do anything they don't already.

"Informal input from bankers indicates that banks routinely calculate their regulatory capital ratios at least quarterly for internal management purposes," he wrote.

Richard L. Mount, president of the Independent Bankers Association of America, said the key to averting an additional compliance burden is a work sheet designed to help bankers fill out the new call reports.

The work sheet, which was created by the examination council but not included in Mr. Cleaver's memo, walks bankers through a calculation of their regulatory capital. It should be completed and sent to banks next month.

With the work sheet, "these changes shouldn't entail burdensome reporting requirements of higher costs to banks," Mr. Mount said.

The revised call report also will separate a bank's liabilities according to the time left to maturity, rather than by original maturity date. The council said the change reflects a focus on the importance of short-term liabilities.

In addition, some report items will be deleted or combined.

Sections for reporting on nontransaction accounts, like certificates of deposit, held by foreign and domestic banks have been combined. Also, items explaining total deposits, income statements for foreign tax credits, and total time and savings deposits have been removed.

For help filling out the March 31 report, national banks and state banks that do not belong to the Federal Reserve System may call the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. toll-free at 800-688-3342.

State-chartered member banks should direct questions to their district Federal Reserve Bank.

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