Fed considers new tool for a downturn

WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve officials are weighing whether to use a tool that could reduce the risk of a credit crunch in a downturn.

The tool is known as the countercyclical capital buffer. It allows the Fed to require banks to hold more loss-absorbing capital should the economy show signs of overheating, or to keep less of it during bad economic times. The buffer applies generally to banks with more than $250 billion in assets, including firms such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc.