Threat Panel to Watch for Risky Business, Not Individual Firms

The group of U.S. regulators responsible for guarding against the threat of future financial crises is embracing a new approach to spotting potential risks -- shifting away from identifying individual firms and focusing on specific activities that could pose hazards.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council -- whose members include the heads of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve -- outlined the proposed revisions to the way it will do business at a meeting in Washington March 6.

The group agreed with its chairman, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, on what he called “significant improvements” that would make it more difficult ...