Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

The final rule approved by the Board fulfills the Board's responsibility, imposed by Congress under Section 171 of the Dodd-Frank Act, to establish minimum risk-based capital requirements for depository institution holding companies significantly engaged in insurance activities. I support the substance of today's final rule, including the "building block" approach adopted in this rule.

However, I cannot support the delegation of authority to staff. I am concerned that today's package includes a broad delegation of authority to staff to make a range of determinations about the application of the rule. The Board has not had the opportunity to consider specific cases in which such authority would be exercised, and it would be more appropriate to provide specific parameters around the use of delegated authority in the context of an actual determination. When the Board delegates authority to staff, such delegations should also expressly provide that staff is not permitted to act on any matters that raise significant legal, policy, or supervisory concerns. Including appropriate parameters around the use of delegated authority is important to support the values of transparency, fairness, and accountability.