US banks tread carefully after record stress buffer cuts
Lower SCBs take effect, but capital deployment remains restrained
US banks that benefited from lower stress capital buffers (SCBs) in the fourth quarter of 2025 posted modest reductions in their actual Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratios, Risk Quantum analysis shows.
Across 21 US banks subject to the SCB with available data, 10 saw a lower buffer take effect on October 1, while 11 did not. Among firms whose capital requirements were reduced, CET1 capital
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