Federal Reserve Issues Guidance on FASB Lease Standard

Last month, the Federal Reserve issued guidance for banks that will account for operating leases as an investment in bank premises when implementing Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases. Issued as Supervision and Regulation Letter no. SR19-7, the guidance states that once a bank adopts the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new lease guidance, it cannot make investments in bank premises without approval if their investments exceed its capital stock.