Basel III
Italian paper looks at effects of Basel leverage ratio on repo and refinancing
A move to higher leverage ratios by eurozone banks has not decreased their repo and refinancing activities, a Bank of Italy paper says
Credit, liquidity and collateral versus more intermediation
Richard Heckinger examines the costs and benefits of complex financial market infrastructure regulations, including the impact of new layers of intermediation
MAS’s Menon urges careful calibration of Basel III
Managing director warns against raising capital requirements further for fear of damaging growth; says final calibration must keep SME and trade finance in mind
Basel Committee scales back risk weights in revised securitisation standard
Tighter definition of what counts as a “simple, transparent and comparable” securitisation gives room to allow “modest” reduction in capital requirements, committee says
Basel Committee approves G-Sib frameworks
All five jurisdictions home to globally systemic banks have established frameworks in line with the Basel accord, first cross-jurisdictional study finds
Structural funding ratios could have helped detect failing banks – BoE working paper
Bank of England working paper reveals structural funding ratios could have helped detect which banks were likely to fail in the 2008 crisis; wholesale funding structures most prone to failure
Central Bank of Bahrain launched range of initiatives in 2015 – annual report
Last year the bank set up a Sharia supervisory board, launched Islamic liquidity facilities, set to work on Basel III and upgraded its IT systems
Basel Committee opts for local discretion on rate risk
Committee abandons attempt to create common global standard for interest rate risk, opting instead to leave discretion with banks and supervisors in final standards
World needs ‘less and better’ finance, Bundesbank board member says
Regulators must resist political pressure to water down implementation of reforms; Basel III must increase capital requirements for high-risk portfolios, Bundesbank executive board member says
Basel Committee flags further issues with bank modelling
Second study of variation in credit risk modelling using internal ratings-based approach sheds further light on what is causing banks to calculate significantly different capital requirements
FRTB data standards seen as threat to emerging markets
Need for "real" prices will limit use of models, increasing capital burden
BoE toughens 2016 stress tests
GDP growth to hit a trough at -1.9%, unemployment to rise 4.5 percentage points and the level of GDP to fall by 4.3% in latest BoE stress tests; higher capital hurdles also mandated
Basel Committee restricts bank options for internal modelling
Banks will no longer be able to use the internal ratings-based approach for certain portfolios, and will face restrictions in other areas, under proposed rules
Basel disclosure proposals add ‘dashboard’ of risk metrics
Fresh proposals on Basel III disclosure aim to simplify comparison of banks’ prudential positions; banks will also have to disclose “benchmark” risk weights based on standardised approach
BoE’s Bailey dismisses ideas for radical banking overhaul
PRA chief stands by the current design of banking regulation, rejecting more radical options involving higher levels of equity as “just not practical”
Sarb’s Lesetja Kganyago on divergent monetary policies and new supervision
The governor of the South African Reserve Bank talks to Christopher Jeffery about navigating divergent monetary policies, South Africa’s new supervisory regime and nurturing new talent
CCPs: too interconnected to fail?
The likely responses by national authorities to the possible failure of CCPs in stressed conditions aren't generally assured. But they may be reluctant to allow them to fail, writes Richard Heckinger
BoE and Vickers clash on capital rules
Both central bank and ring-fencing committee chair claim to have recommended higher capital requirements than the other – but a look at the proposals suggests the differences are slim
‘No Basel IV’, Draghi tells European Parliament
Banks will not face significantly higher capital requirements, Mario Draghi tells the Econ committee; UK agreement with rest of EU should be “clear”
Revised Basel III better reflects bank risk, research finds
Study says 2013 capital rules more in line with actual risk, but can be easily gamed
Technology provider of the year: BearingPoint
BearingPoint's Abacus/Regulator system is helping central banks cope with the vast volumes of data that come with new regulatory reporting requirements
Spanish paper finds issues with Basel III approach to calculating risk-weighted assets
The approach to calculating banks’ risk-weighted assets introduced by Basel III may create incentives for ‘regulatory arbitrage’, a Bank of Spain paper argues
Leverage ratio as high as 5% could yield net benefits, BIS economists say
Authors say there is ‘considerable room for manoeuvre’ when it comes to setting a leverage ratio above the current Basel III minimum of 3%
BoE plans capital framework redesign
The central bank hopes the realignment of capital requirements from individual banks to a system-wide buffer will simplify the framework and allow the FPC to respond to threats earlier