Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 15, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe Bank of England has eased capital requirements for midsize banks, raising MREL thresholds to prevent taxpayer bailouts and boost the financial sector.
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's central bank confirmed a previously signposted easing of capital requirements for medium-sized lenders on Tuesday, as part of a wider set of reforms aimed at boosting the country's financial sector.
The Bank of England increased the minimum asset threshold at which banks have to issue expensive debt known as MREL, so that they can be bailed in if they fail instead of needing taxpayer rescue as happened in the 2008 financial crisis.
The BOE set the threshold at 25 billion-40 billion pounds ($87.35 billion), up from a previous 15 billion-25 billion pounds.
($1 = 0.7442 pounds)
(Reporting By Lawrence White; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
The Bank of England confirmed an easing of capital requirements for medium-sized lenders, increasing the minimum asset threshold for issuing MREL.
The new MREL threshold is set at 25 billion to 40 billion pounds, up from the previous range of 15 billion to 25 billion pounds.
This easing is part of a wider set of reforms aimed at boosting the financial stability of medium-sized banks and reducing the need for taxpayer bailouts.
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