The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Canada's banking regulator has maintained the capital cushion that the country's largest banks must hold, signalling that they have enough cash to weather a tougher economy. The Globe's Stefanie Marotta writes that the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) said Tuesday that the domestic stability buffer -- a capital reserve that banks must maintain to soften the blow of an economic downturn -- will remain at 3.5 per cent of a bank's risk-weighted assets. In recent years, the banking regulator boosted the buffer twice, hiking it from 2.5 per cent. The increase forced lenders to hold onto billions of dollars in excess cash, taking a chunk out of profits. OSFI also previously increased the potential range of the buffer to between 0 and 4 per cent, up from a maximum of 2.5 per cent. Some senior bankers have questioned whether higher capital levels are harming the competitiveness of Canada's banking sector. Superintendent of Financial Institutions Peter Routledge said Tuesday that any decision to lower the buffer would depend on economic circumstances. OSFI would consider a decrease in the event of a shock to the financial system, he said.