WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Regulators should wait to impose more stringent capital standards for banks until the economy improves, U.S. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said on Thursday.

'You impose them as the economy gets better, not while it's still having its troubles,' Dugan told CNBC Television in an interview.

Dugan also said he sees benefit in some consolidation of federal banking supervision, but stopped short of endorsing Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd's proposal to consolidate all of those powers into one agency.

'I think that you can't take all banking regulation from the Federal Reserve,' Dugan said.

Currently four regulators, including Dugan's agency, share responsibility for federal banking supervision.

(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski; Editing by Derek Caney) Keywords: FINANCIAL REGULATION/DUGAN

(E-mail:karey.wutkowski@thomsonreuters.com; +1-202-898-8374)

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