Largest 19 U.S. banks need $50 bln to meet Basel

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
The largest 19 bank holding companies would have a capital shortfall of $50 billion had the Basel III capital buffer rules proposed Thursday be in effect immediately, according to Federal Reserve officials
The Fed rules, which are based on an international agreement, are expected to be adopted before a January 2013 phase in date
After that, banks have until 2019 to implement the capital requirements
They requires global banks to hold the strictest form of common equity capital of 7% of their assets
The current capital level for the big firms is currently $791 billion, the Fed officials said