Regs Give Small Banks A Break On Paperwork

U.S. regulators are apparently giving smaller banks a bit of a break when it comes to reporting requirements.

Reports late last week said the Federal Reserve and other regulators will allow small banks that hold less than $1 billion in assets to file their required reports via more streamlined versions of those documents. The reports, called “call reports,” offer a look into the bank’s performance and are required to be filed quarterly.

The Federal Reserve said in its announcement Friday (Dec. 30) that the new rules will apply to small banks that do not hold offices overseas. According to reports, those financial institutions make up the majority of the nation’s banks.

The new filing requirements mean these FIs will have to provide only about 60 percent of the data that larger banks are required to provide to regulators, reports said. The rules will come into effect March 1 of this year.

Financial regulators have looked to lighten regulatory loads on smaller banks, seen as critical players in federal initiatives within the payments landscape. For instance, small and mid-sized banks are considered key to faster payments initiatives. Helping these financial institutions to explore emerging technologies is also critical, analysts say, considering that many smaller banks are struggling to finance exploration and research of disruptive technologies.

Smaller banks are also closely watching how President-Elect Donald Trump will impact their operations and compliance efforts. Some industry experts have pointed to plans for the Trump administration to dismantle aspects of Dodd-Frank and stress test requirements as key areas that may impact smaller banks in particular.