President Joe Biden’s administration is calling on regulators to tighten the rules for mid-sized banks, the latest step in its response to the banking crisis that led to the failure of a pair of regional lenders.
The White House on Thursday called for federal banking agencies, in conjunction with the Treasury Department, to enact a series of changes to tighten rules. None of the measures requires Congressional approval, the White House said in a statement.
The changes include reinstating rules for banks with assets between US$100 billion and $250 billion — a category that Silicon Valley Bank, which failed, fell into — including liquidity requirements, enhanced stress testing and so-called “living wills” that show how banks that size could be wound down.
The White House also called for:
annual stress tests for banks in that range, instead of every two years
shortening the time to apply stress tests once banks reach $100 billion in assets
strengthening supervisory tools to ensure banks can withstand rising interest rates
The White House backed calls for community banks to not share the cost of replenishing the Deposit Insurance Fund, which was used to backstop SVB and Signature Bank, which also failed.
The moves come as Biden searches for tools to further calm the banking crisis and prevent another failure. Lael Brainard, the former Fed vice chair who now leads Biden’s National Economic Council, has argued in the past that the Fed went further than it had to in rolling back regulations under 2018 measures enacted by Congress.
A White House official, briefing reporters on the announcement, said it will ultimately be up to regulators to enact the changes but that the administration had spoken with them in preparing its proposals.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will warn in a speech Thursday that deregulatory efforts might have gone too far and contributed to the recent crisis.
Yellen plans to say it is important to “reexamine whether our current supervisory and regulatory regimes are adequate for the risks that banks face today.”
Progressive lawmakers have pointed to the 2018 deregulation push as a contributor to the bank failures, whereas conservative lawmakers who backed deregulation have laid blame elsewhere, such as with regulators.
The rollback of banking regulations under former President Donald Trump garnered the votes of more than a dozen Democratic senators.
The Fed has launched an investigation into the events that led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California, and Congress is likely to open its own inquiries.
TORONTO – Cineplex Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago as it was hit by a fine for deceptive marketing practices imposed by the Competition Tribunal.
The movie theatre company says it lost $24.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $29.7 million or 40 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The results in the most recent quarter included a $39.2-million provision related to the Competition Tribunal decision, which Cineplex is appealing.
The Competition Bureau accused the company of misleading theatregoers by not immediately presenting them with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online, a view the company has rejected.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $395.6 million, down from $414.5 million in the same quarter last year, while theatre attendance totalled 13.3 million for the quarter compared with nearly 15.7 million a year earlier.
Box office revenue per patron in the quarter climbed to $13.19 compared with $12 in the same quarter last year, while concession revenue per patron amounted to $9.85, up from $8.44 a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
