Biggest Banks Face Capital Surcharge as High as 2.5%, FSB Says

Global regulators have backed Basel plans that would force banks judged too big to fail to hold as much as 2.5 percentage points in additional capital, as part of efforts to prevent them from collapsing and causing another financial crisis.

The Financial Stability Board said that the extra requirements are necessary because of the threat such lenders would pose to the global economy if they failed. Regulators also endorsed measures including bondholder writedowns to shield taxpayers from bank bailouts.