DATA REPORTING: Still no word yet on a proposal by the Fed to let banks voluntarily collect race and sex data on owners of small businesses. Banks could use the information to determine how well they are serving all segments of their markets; the data could not be used for underwriting purposes. Bankers are generally critical of the proposal, claiming the data would be unreliable. Published April 26. Comments were due June 27.
INTEREST RATE RISK: The banking agencies are still working on a proposal to incorporate interest rate risk into capital standards. The Fed had scheduled a Dec. 13 meeting to debate the proposal, but withdrew it. The agencies also dropped a requirement that banks collect interest rate risk data during the first quarter. (See "Recent Actions".) Bankers have criticized the proposed interest rate risk formula, saying it is too rigid.
Published Aug. 2. Comments were due Oct. 2.
MARKET RISK II: The federal banking agencies are trying to find more accurate ways to measure market risk.
One proposal, agreed upon by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, is discussed under "Action Expected Soon." A second plan, issued solely by the Fed, would let banks decide for themselves how much capital to set aside for trading activities - and make them pay fines if their losses exceeded the capital cushion. Published July 25. Comments were due Nov. 1.
BANK POWERS: The Comptroller's proposal to let national banks conduct new activities through subsidiaries is entering its second year. Currently, nonbank products and services are offered through holding company subsidiaries, not bank units. The plan was proposed last November; comments were due in January 1995.
But the agency backed off when Congress considered legislation to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act would go the other way on securities activities, requiring banks to conduct new securities activities in holding company subsidiaries.
Now that the bill has stalled in Congress, the Comptroller's office may move ahead with a final rule although nothing is expected soon.
RECOURSE II: The agencies are trying to come up with a comprehensive, credit-rating-based method for determining how much capital banks must hold against assets sold with recourse. An advance notice of proposed rulemaking was issued for comment in May 1994. Comments were due in July 1994. A more concrete proposal was expected by yearend but has been pushed back and could surface in the first quarter.
PREMIUM BASE: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has pending an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that would change the way it calculates how much institutions pay for deposit insurance.
The September 1994 proposal sought ideas for adding liabilities to the domestic deposits that now make up the assessment base, or for converting the base to assets. Narrower changes that have been suggested include eliminating the current float and measuring domestic deposits by quarterly average.
