Financial regulators will vote on Tuesday to finalize tough requirements for U.S. banks' leverage that are expected to be stricter than the rules overseas firms must follow. The rules, under consideration by the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, would force banks to fund part of their business through less risky sources such as shareholder equity, rather than by borrowing money. Global regulators agreed in the so-called Basel III accord to limit the reliance on debt after the 2007-2009 financial crisis left banks on shaky footing. U.S. officials' vote on Tuesday would implement a portion of the agreement known as the leverage ratio. Unlike risk-based capital rules, leverage limits are calculated as a percentage of a bank's total assets and are seen as harder to game. Regulators have not released the final rules, but analysts expect them to closely follow a July 2013 proposal that called for the eight biggest banks
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