Minimum capital requirements

The combined bank will move into a more demanding supervisory class under the Fed’s regime, but analysts also see a regulatory upside from the deal.

The central bank has drawn mixed reviews for new stress test scenarios and changes to how much banks know about the test beforehand. Its top regulatory official says the enhancements help the post-crisis regime evolve.

The exemption was included in a suite of other changes unveiled to provide greater transparency to the Fed's stress testing regime.

Banks say regulatory relief efforts should go even further, while public interest groups — and even one of the Fed’s regional offices — say the proposals to roll back supervisory standards go too far.

Three groups in North Carolina have scrapped plans to start banks because of difficulty raising capital, among other reasons.

The revised recommendations are one of the last remaining pieces left to finish in the Basel III capital accords.

The Dodd-Frank Act gave the central bank authority to set capital requirements for insurance companies that own a federally insured bank, as well as those determined to be systemically important.

From stress tests to tailoring the Dodd-Frank Act to the Volcker Rule, the banking agencies have a number of important proposals to finalize in the coming year. But there are several potential obstacles that could throw those plans off track.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell demurs on regulatory relief for largest banks while saying he is “open” to countercyclical buffer.

The alternative is waiting for state and federal regulators to take steps that could disrupt the flow of capital and put some firms out of business.