The Consumer Price Index published today finds consumer prices rose again, confirming the economy has still not recovered for many Americans. Reducing access to capital in our financial system by implementing the Basel III Endgame during this critical period of time is expected to make economic conditions worse for consumers. 

• Higher capital requirements will reduce access to credit, making goods more expensive for consumers: "The market-making capital requirement would increase costs and lead to smaller inventories and less liquid markets, raising costs for companies seeking investment capital and savers looking for a solid financial return on their capital."
• Consumers will be the ones paying the price: "For example, a coffee company depends on a regular, predictable supply of coffee beans. To protect itself against a possible increase in coffee bean prices, the company could enter into a futures contract that would allow it to buy beans at a specific price on a particular date. That contract is a hedge. Higher costs of hedging could in turn mean higher prices for consumers." 
• Across industries, companies such as the Kaiser Aluminum Corporation have said they expect an increase in costs to be passed down to customers: "We expect increased derivatives hedging costs to be passed through the supply chain to the ultimate consumers of our products."
• Beyond consumer goods, residential mortgages will also become more expensive: "Prudential regulation for the sake of putting arbitrary capital requirements on depositories and nonbank issuers will only hurt consumers by making residential mortgages more expensive."

One thing is clear: Basel III Endgame is a proposal Americans can't afford. Regulators need to go back to the drawing board.