Banks Turn Against Congress’s Virus Relief From Loan-Loss Rule

Congress made waves when it inserted a measure in its massive coronavirus relief package that put the brakes on when banks have to comply with the biggest change to their accounting in decades.

But once banks learned the nitty-gritty details of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136; see BGOV Bill Summary)—and then regulators’ interpretations of the law—they started saying “thanks, no thanks” to the change they’d asked for. Some are saying they’ll just go ahead and follow the current expected credit losses (CECL) accounting standard as written.

“It seems like a lot more trouble than it’s worth” ...