Fed's Jerome Powell faces political test on bank capital relief issue

An esoteric bank capital rule has become an unlikely political hot potato for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, as the Republican appointee enters the final 12 months of his term under Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, analysts said.
 

On March 31, an emergency pandemic regulatory relief measure that for the past year has allowed Wall Street banks to hold less loss-absorbing capital against certain assets is due to expire.
 

The industry has been lobbying the US central bank to extend the relief, arguing the rule is fundamentally flawed and reprising it could stall the US economic recovery. But powerful Democrats,