Global regulators set capital buffers for biggest banks; Citi, Deutsche, JPMorgan, HSBC lead group

Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and JPMorgan Chase & Co will need to hold the most extra capital of 28 banks considered so large and complex they need an extra buffer to absorb potential losses, global regulators said on Thursday. The four global banks will be required to hold an extra 2.5 percent of common equity as a percentage of risk-weighted assets on top of a 7 percent minimum being phased in from January, according to the Financial Stability Board, a regulatory task force for the group of 20 top economies. The additional cushion aims to make sure large banks cannot threaten the financial system in future crises and require government bailouts. The FSB will update its requirements twice more over the next two years before they start going into effect in 2016. Large banks are building capital to meet the new requirements known as "Basel III." For banks, holding more capital - in other words, funding themselves with more equity - makes it harder to wring