US banks duck below asset thresholds to avoid rules – Fed economists

US banks may be suppressing their natural growth to avoid the heightened regulation that kicks in as they get larger, research by Federal Reserve economists shows.

The amount of assets a bank holds determines the degree of regulation it faces. At $10 billion, banks become subject to Dodd-Frank stress tests. Many more rules take effect when an institution grows beyond $50 billion, and a greater number applies at the $250 billion and $700 billion levels.

Fed economists found that these threshold