WASHINGTON, June 22 Reuters U.S. banks are pushing to soften a major regulatory proposal to hike bank capital requirements, worried it could prove too onerous, especially for lenders still reeling from the March banking crisis, according to six people briefed on the matter.

Bank regulators led by the U.S. Federal Reserve are finalizing the proposal which would implement international capital standards agreed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in the aftermath of the 20072009 financial crisis.

Bankers are particularly concerned by an aspect of the draft proposal that would apply higher capital charges on noninterest revenue, such as the fees lenders charge on credit cards or investment banking services.

That capital charge is part of the package agreed by the Basel Committee in 2017, but the industry says it overstates the risk for banks that have a high proportion of noninterest income and had hoped U.S. regulators would mitigate its impact, the people said.

Bank groups are pushing for regulators to cap the proportion of assets on which such charges would apply, said three people, but it was unclear if the agencies would take that approach.

Noninterest services income has been a key focus of many lenders39; growth strategies in recent years, one industry official noted.

American Express, Morgan Stanley and the U.S. units of UBS, Deutsche Bank and Barclays are among banks with a high proportion of noninterest income, according to a 2022 blog by Washington…