PORTFOLIO Checks and Balances By Chris Cole, ICBA Capital ideas ICBA pushes back against proposals to ease megabank capital standards. ollowing the 2008 financial meltdown, policymakers implemented stronger capital rules on the biggest banks to mitigate risks to the fi nancial system and protect against future crises. Unfortunately for community bankers and others who wish to maintain fi nancial stability, policymakers are now proposing to roll back these enhanced standards on the largest bank holding companies and their subsidiaries. As policymakers continue reviewing fi nancial services regulations, ICBA is working to ensure 40 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q October 2018 F Chris Cole (chris.cole@ icba.org) is ICBA executive vice president and senior regulatory counsel they don't heed the siren song of the largest and riskiest institutions and weaken crucial safeguards on our fi nancial system. In April, the Federal Reserve and the Offi ce of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) launched the push to ease capital standards on global, systemically important bank holding companies, known as G-SIBs, and their federally insured subsidiaries. Their plan would reduce capital levels required by the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards that were introduced in 2013. Members of the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee followed up in August, asking the Fed to eliminate " exces