Rep. Ann Wagner Presses Fed Vice Chair on Check Fraud and Basel 3 Endgame

Addressing Check Fraud

• 💡 Check fraud has seen a substantial increase, with financial institutions filing over 700% more suspicious activity reports (SARs) in 2022 compared to a decade prior.
• 🎯 Despite a decrease in check usage, approximately three-quarters of retirement-age individuals still use checks regularly, making them vulnerable.
• ⚠️ Regulators have been criticized for being slow to address the harm caused by check fraud to banks, consumers, and businesses.
• 🔍 The Federal Reserve is reviewing public comments and has formed a working group to better understand and mitigate check fraud and other payment frauds.

Basel 3 Endgame Concerns

• 🏦 A bipartisan letter highlighted concerns regarding the previous administration's Basel 3 endgame proposal, particularly its treatment of securitized assets.
• ⚖️ The proposal's changes to the P factor could have required US banks to hold significantly more capital than European banks for the same assets.
• 🚀 Efforts are underway to rework the Basel 3 endgame proposal to enhance the international competitiveness of American banks and free up capital for lending.
• 🎯 The Fed is working on a Basel proposal that is risk-focused and more consistent with the 2017 agreement, avoiding unnecessary expansion beyond its scope.