Regulation
Fed wants right to choose which nonbanks pose systemic threat
Federal Reserve rule proposes that it will have discretion to determine whether nonbank financial firms come under Financial Stability Oversight Council’s watch on case-by-case basis
Spain should consider regulatory overhaul: FSB peer review
Financial Stability Board peer review calls for Spanish authorities to consider new regulatory structure once market turmoil has subsided; separate review of Italy also published
Future of Supervisors' letter process unclear in wake of Dodd-Frank
Swap clearing legislation threatens to render OTC market commitments redundant
Danish regulators push for more flexible Basel III liquidity rules
Shortage of high-quality liquid assets prompts Danish regulators to push for changes to the liquidity coverage ratio within the EU capital requirements directive
HK SFC’s Wheatley to head new UK regulator
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s Martin Wheatley named CEO designate of new consumer regulator; becomes head of FSA’s consumer and business wing in September
UK FSA calls for more funds again
Financial Services Authority puts funding requirement up by 10%, pointing to increased cost of intensive supervision, Basel III and forthcoming split
Government failures aided housing bust, says FDIC’s Bair
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chair Sheila Bair says government-encouraged risk-taking created misaligned incentives in mortgage lending
Fed, Greenspan blamed for crisis by bulk of crisis commission
Six of ten members point finger at weak regulation and lack of awareness as to the goings-on in markets as causes of the crisis; four dissent, saying under-regulation claims overstated
Global supervisors gather at NY Fed for OTC meet
Regulators and supervisors head to Liberty Street for eighth OTC derivatives gathering
HKMA end-of-year review says banking sector resilient
Hong Kong Monetary Authority end-of-year review says banking sector remains resilient; plans to step up regulation of banks in 2011
IIF’s Oudéa calls for G-20 taskforce for cross-border resolution
Institute for International Finance’s Frédéric Oudéa says G-20 taskforce will stir up political will for agreement on cross-border resolution
FASB drops plan to extend mark-to-market rules to loans
US Financial Accounting Standards Board reverses on May 2010 decision to expand fair-value accounting to most loans; commentators welcome move, saying it improves chances of IFRS convergence
Banking Commission chief makes case for ring-fencing retail operations
Independent Commission on Banking chief John Vickers rules out “radical narrow banking” but says some separation between investment and retail banks could help
Brussels seeks clarity on solving national regulators’ spats
European Commission calls for amendments to laws stating what the role of new supervisory authorities will be in resolving disputes between national regulators
Basel III will cause ‘financial Darwinism’: BaFin’s Sanio
Top German regulator Jochen Sanio says Basel III will squeeze weaker banks, spur formation of large banking groups that will pose more systemic risk
Basel bids to ensure all regulatory capital can be used to buffer losses
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision sets out rules to ensure instruments deemed Tier I and Tier II capital can be used to soak up losses; instruments issued after January 2013 must comply
PBoC allows Chinese firms to invest renminbi abroad
People’s Bank of China to allow domestic banks to settle investments abroad in renminbi as part of cross-border investment pilot
Argentina raises deposit insurance ceiling: reports
Central Bank of Argentina quadruples cap on bank deposit insurance to better reflect falling peso
Israel’s Eckstein backs new gas levy
Bank of Israel deputy governor Zvi Eckstein supports committee recommendations on natural gas levy
Senior officials for new European regulators named
European regulators in Paris and Frankfurt appoint a number of new heads and board members
Barclays’ Diamond argues case for universal banking
Barclays' chief executive Bob Diamond adamant bank’s model funds cheaper lending and is less risky
What Basel III means to us
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published the final text of Basel III on December 16, which introduces new minimum capital requirements, two liquidity ratios, a charge for credit value adjustment and a leverage ratio, among other things. Risk…