Many bankers appear happy with the new proposals for “Basel III Endgame,” and with good reason. When this all started back in 2023, the proposals were so controversial that banks launched a promotional campaign to defeat the effort. They even called out their regulators for arbitrarily raising capital requirements (by close to 20 percent for the largest banks), something very far from the norm for banks. 

Now, all the original proposals have been scaled back. And considering the arbitrary nature of the original proposals, that’s probably a good thing. 

Still, some people, also with good reason, are less than thrilled with a few of the specifics. For example, JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon believes that the GSIB surcharge (a special capital buffer for the Global Systemically Important Banks whose failure supposedly could threaten the financial system) is still too high. In a recent letter to his shareholders, Dimon argues that “While we can accept that some level of surcharge is appropriate, given our position in the market, the proposed level just seems to punish our success, our strength, our consistency, and our balanced business model. Frankly, it’s not right, and it’s un-American.”

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