Eat My Shorts, Regulators! Fed Gives Banks a Break (Maybe to Buy More Krusty Burgers?)

The Man's Taking a Break?

Ay caramba! So apparently the Fed – you know the guys who control all the money not unlike Mr. Burns and his power plant – are thinking about loosening up some rules for the banks. They say these rules called the 'enhanced supplementary leverage ratio' (try saying that five times fast!) are cramping the banks' style. Seems like they're tired of hearing 'Can't someone else do it?' and want the banks to loosen up a bit.

Wall Street's Woo Hoo! Moment

Turns out Wall Street's been whining about these rules for a while now saying they can't make as much moolah as they want. And some folks at the Fed – like that dude Jerome Powell – are listening! They think maybe these rules are a bit too strict especially since banks are swimming in cash like Scrooge McDuck (except maybe without the cool diving board).

The Fine Print (D'oh!)

Here's the nitty gritty: they're talking about letting the big banks hold a little less capital. Like $13 billion less for the parent companies and a whopping $210 billion less for the smaller branches. That's a lotta dough! They're hoping this will help the banks buy more of those Treasury thingamajigs – you know the boring stuff that keeps the country running (or not depending on who you ask). It will really allow the banks to "homer" in on some more money making ventures.

Not Everyone's Saying 'Excellent!'

But hold your horses! Not everyone's thrilled about this idea. Some Fed bigwigs like Adriana Kugler and that Michael Barr guy are saying 'Don't have a cow man!' They think the banks will just use the extra cash to like pay out bonuses and buy bigger yachts instead of actually helping the economy. Talk about a Bart Simpson prank!

Safety Net or Hammock?

The Fed guys in charge are saying they just want the capital rules to be a safety net not a straightjacket. They want the banks to be able to take some risks (within reason of course) but those other Fed folks are worried that it'll turn into a 'Milhouse esque' disaster where everyone's losing their marbles.

Basel? Sounds Like Some Kind of Cream!

Apparently these new rules are supposed to be in line with something called 'Basel standards,' which are like the international rules of the road for banks. So the Fed's basically saying they're just following orders. But who knows? Maybe they're just trying to pull a fast one on us like Sideshow Bob!