U.S. units of foreign lenders including Deutsche Bank AG may berequired by regulators to comply with tougher capital rules thatsome banks sought to skirt, three people with knowledge of thediscussions said.

The Federal Reserve, drafting standards for the nation's largestbanks, may force non-U.S. firms to house all of their businesseswithin a U.S. holding company, said the people, who requestedanonymity because the rules haven't been completed. That meanslocal units would have to meet minimum capital standards regardlessof their parents' resources.

Deutsche Bank and London-based Barclays Plc have changed theirU.S. legal status in the past two years to discard theholding-company structure. The treatment could force foreign banksto inject capital into their U.S. units and limit their ability tomove funds across borders, said Luigi De Ghenghi, a partner at lawfirm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York.