Regulation
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
Rohde laments Denmark’s lack of banking reform clout
National Bank of Denmark governor says Danish system of mortgage credit does not necessarily fit well with Basel framework, but the country has limited options to influence reform process
Romanian central banker warns of risk from ‘unwarranted’ loan law
Romania deputy governor warns of risks posed by legislative initiatives on debt settlements passed by the country’s parliament
Cyprus amends anti-money laundering regulation
Central Bank of Cyprus has amended its anti-money laundering directives, requiring banks to take extra measures to verify their customers’ identities; focus on accounts opened by third parties
PSR has taken ‘decisive action’ in its first year – managing director
Nixon marks PSR’s first birthday with speech in Copenhagen; regulator has helped in improving access and “levelling the playing field” for market participants
Investors to sue Portuguese central bank over asset writedown
A group of bondholders in a failed bank are bringing a lawsuit against the Portuguese central bank over its writedown of their holdings in a failed commercial bank
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
BoE’s Breeden plots route to ‘third phase’ of global banking regulation
Regulators have moved from fragmentation to “balkanisation”, and now must work to establish full co-operation, executive director says
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”
Mervyn King calls for radical banking reform
Former Bank of England governor wants to curtail banks’ use of maturity transformation, putting the central bank’s lender-of-last-resort role at the heart of his new banking system
South Africa continues to make progress in market conduct regulation, deputy governor says
Sarb in communication with regulators about revised code of conduct; next stage to be completed in ‘coming months’
‘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”
Market discipline ‘key pillar’ of RBNZ toolkit, article says
Article in latest Reserve Bank of New Zealand bulletin insists new requirements have not come at the expense of market discipline – they are both ‘key pillars’ of regulatory toolkit
Paper finds positive impact from Dodd-Frank swap rules
Compulsory trading via swap execution facilities has boosted liquidity and cut trading costs in the market for interest rate swaps, working paper published by BoE finds
Basel Committee completes trading book review
Much-anticipated redesign of market risk framework seeks to capture risks the Basel accord failed to guard against in 2008; impact study implies median 27% increase in capital charges
Consultancy and advisory services provider of the year: BlackRock Solutions
A key partner to major central banks engaging in complex asset purchases, asset quality reviews, resolution mechanisms and strategic asset allocations
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
BoE moves to close bonus clawback loophole
Under new proposals, banks will no longer be able to circumvent malus and clawback rules by buying out new employees’ bonuses
RBI is rebalancing shadow-banking regulation, Gandhi says
The central bank seeks to tighten regulation and move from entity- to activity-based rules, the deputy governor says
‘Step-in risk’ could become part of Basel framework
Basel Committee consults on the risks created by a bank intervening to support third parties, but reserves judgement on how to incorporate such risks into the Basel framework
Bonus cap may impact other pay regulation, research from Bank of England warns
Researchers see potential for bonus caps to clash with other remuneration regulation; level of pay ‘at risk’ declines
UK payment systems regulator assesses compliance in first annual report
First PSR annual report shows progress is being made towards access and governance goals, but there are still areas for improvement
UK banks must raise extra £27bn to meet resolution needs under BoE proposals
Large banks will have to issue additional subordinated debt to meet MREL requirement under proposals designed to ensure banks will continue to operate under resolution