The Weekly Fix: Acronym Obsession; Backhanded BIS Compliments
People walk by the New York Stock Exchange.
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Welcome to the Weekly Fix, the newsletter that gets nervous about three-letter acronyms. I'm cross-asset reporter Katie Greifeld.
The latest acronym on Wall Street’s mind is SLR: the supplementary leverage ratio. In normal times, SLR required U.S. banks to hold a minimum level of capital against their assets as a buffer against losses. However, the Federal Reserve exempted Treasuries and deposits at the central bank from those requirements roughly a year ago. Banks took advantage, with balance sheets ballooning by as much as $600 billion as a result of the regulatory relief.