Contrary to some congressional views, U.S. regulators are ‘active participants’ in international standards setting

Federal banking agencies have been “active participants” in developing or updating international banking standards, a new report issued Thursday by the congressional watchdog finds – even though some members of Congress believed the regulators had limited input.

The report, issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), found that the active participation by the federal banking regulators helped in creating or updating international standards, guidelines, or informational publications from 2010 through 2025.

“Along with other standard-setting body members, they helped develop 22 standards and at least 120 guidelines and informational publications, according to GAO’s review of standard-setting body documentation and agency staff,” the report stated. U.S. agencies, along with their international colleagues, are “expected but are not legally required to implement standards domestically, whereas implementation of guidelines and informational publications is encouraged but not expected.”

The report looked at three areas: the extent to which federal banking agencies participated in the development of international standards; how the agencies implemented the standards and how standard-setting bodies promote their implementation, and; mechanisms for overseeing the federal banking agencies’ development of international standards, among other objectives.

Questions have been raised by some members of Congress, the report stated, about the transparency of international standard setting. “For example, some Members of Congress have stated that the banking agencies have implemented domestic regulations that closely reflect international standards developed with limited input from U.S. stakeholders,” the report stated.

The GAO asserted that federal banking agencies use several mechanisms to oversee participation in standards development. “Through multilayered internal review processes, senior officials reviewed staff work, while agency leaders approved policy positions and represented their respective agencies in key meetings,” the report stated. The agencies are also subject to several external forms of oversight and transparency, including congressional hearings and reporting, public consultations by standard-setting bodies, and disclosures in annual reports.”

International Collaboration: Federal Banking Agencies Actively Participated in Standard-Setting Bodies