In a long-anticipated move, the Treasury Department and Financial Stability Oversight Council have notified three non-bank financial companies that they may be designated as "systemically important" and singled out for  increased regulatory scrutiny because their size and scope make insolvency a threat to the broader financial marketplace.

Although not publicly named, American International Group, Prudential Financial, and GE Capital each confirmed their proposed designation as a Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI). They would join a list of similarly designated banks that includes Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and Wells Fargo.

The FSOC was established under the Dodd-Frank Act to identify risks to financial stability of the U.S. financial system through “comprehensive monitoring” of the nation's largest financial firms. The Council consists of 10 voting members and five nonvoting members that include federal and state regulators and an independent insurance expert appointed by the President.

Among the criteria the FSOC relies upon in evaluating whether an entity poses systemic risk: having at least $50 billion of total assets, $30 billion in outstanding credit default swaps, $3.5 billion in derivative liabilities, or $20 billion of debt. Firms with a leverage ratio of more than 15-to-1 in assets to equity, or a short-term debt to asset ratio of 10 percent, also warrant consideration by the agency. In conducting its three-stage SIFI analysis, the FSOC may also assess additional factors that relate to a company's size, interconnectedness, liquidity risk, and existing regulatory scrutiny.

SIFIs will be required to conduct regular stress tests, prepare credit exposure reports, and draft “living wills” that document resolution and liquidation plans. They may also face enhanced prudential standards, including requirements regarding risk-based capital and leverage, liquidity, risk management, early remediation, and credit concentration.

Neither the list of non-bank SIFIs, nor the rules they will be require to abide by, have been finalized. Companies have 30 days to appeal their FSOC designation. New rules specific to non-bank operations are not yet completed. In a statement, Prudential Financial said it “is evaluating whether to request a non-public evidentiary hearing before the Council to contest the proposed determination.”