Agencies issue resolution plan feedback to 15 banks

Federal banking agencies have made public feedback letters tied to the resolution plans of 15 banking organizations, giving each firm a written assessment of how its plan for an orderly wind-down was reviewed. The disclosure offers a rare, if procedural, look at the supervisory dialogue around how large institutions would be unwound.

Resolution plans, commonly called living wills, lay out how a bank could be restructured or liquidated in an orderly way, without relying on taxpayer support or destabilizing the wider financial system. They are a fixture of the post-2008 regulatory framework and must be filed periodically by the largest institutions.

Feedback letters generally summarize examiners' views, flagging parts of a plan that need more work and outlining what the firm should do next. Firms are typically expected to respond with revised submissions or additional detail, and the letters become part of the ongoing supervisory record.

The release underscores regulators' continued attention to resolvability as a core safety-and-soundness concern for the largest institutions. For the 15 organizations involved, the next step is addressing the issues raised in the correspondence, though the letters themselves rarely carry immediate consequences and the work tends to unfold over months.