Basel Framework International regulatory standards for banks |
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Background |
Pillar 1: Regulatory capital |
Pillar 2: Supervisory review |
Pillar 3: Market disclosure |
Business and Economics Portal |
Basel III is the third of three Basel Accords, a framework that sets international standards and minimums for bank capital requirements, stress tests, liquidity regulations, and leverage, with the goal of mitigating the risk of bank runs. It was developed in response to the deficiencies in financial regulation revealed by the 2007–2008 financial crisis and builds upon the standards of Basel II, introduced in 2004, and Basel I, introduced in 1988.
Basel III was published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in November 2010, and was first scheduled to be introduced from 2013 until 2015. [1] [2] [3] Implementation of the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) has been completed only in some countries and is scheduled to be completed in others in 2025 and 2026. Implementation of the Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms (also known as Basel 3.1 or Basel III Endgame), introduced in 2017, was extended several times, and is now scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2025 with a three-year phase-in period. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Basel III requires banks to have a minimum CET1 ratio (Common Tier 1 capital divided by risk-weighted assets (RWAs)) at all times of:
Plus:
Plus:
In the U.S., an additional 1% is required for globally systemically important financial institutions. [10]
It also requires minimum Tier 1 capital of 6% at all times (beginning in 2015). [9]
Common Tier 1 capital comprises shareholders equity (including audited profits), less deductions of accounting reserve that are not believed to be loss absorbing "today", including goodwill and other intangible assets. To prevent the potential of double-counting of capital across the economy, bank's holdings of other bank shares are also deducted.
Tier 2 capital + Tier 1 capital is required to be above 8%.
Leverage ratio is calculated by dividing Tier 1 capital by the bank's leverage exposure. The leverage exposure is the sum of the exposures of all on-balance sheet assets, 'add-ons' for derivative exposures and securities financing transactions (SFTs), and credit conversion factors for off-balance sheet items. [11] [12]
Basel III introduced a minimum leverage ratio of 3%. [13]
The U.S. established another ratio, the supplemental leverage ratio, defined as Tier 1 capital divided by total assets. It is required to be above 3.0%. [14] A minimum leverage ratio of 5% is required for large banks and systemically important financial institutions. [15] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, from April 2020 until 31 March 2021, for financial institutions with more than $250 billion in consolidated assets, the calculation excluded U.S. Treasury securities and deposits at Federal Reserve Banks. [16] [14] [17]
In the EU, the minimum bank leverage ratio is the same 3% as required by Basel III. [18]
The UK requires a minimum leverage ratio, for banks with deposits greater than £50 billion, of 3.25%. This higher minimum reflects the PRA's differing treatment of the leverage ratio, which excludes central bank reserves in 'Total exposure' of the calculation. [19]
Basel III introduced two required liquidity/funding ratios. [20]
Regulators can allow banks to dip below their required liquidity levels per the liquidity coverage ratio during periods of stress. [23]
In 2014, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors approved a U.S. version of the liquidity coverage ratio, [21] which had more stringent definitions of HQLA and total net cash outflows. Certain privately issued mortgage backed securities are included in HQLA under Basel III but not under the U.S. rule. Bonds and securities issued by financial institutions, which can become illiquid during a financial crisis, are not eligible under the U.S. rule. The rule is also modified for banks that do not have at least $250 billion in total assets or at least $10 billion in on-balance sheet foreign exposure. [24]
A new framework for exposures to CCPs was introduced in 2017. [13]
The standardised approach for counterparty credit risk (SA-CCR), which replaced the Current exposure method, became effective in 2017. [13] SA-CCR is used to measure the potential future exposure of derivative transactions in the leverage exposure measure and non-modelled Risk Weighted Asset calculations.
Capital requirements for equity investments in hedge funds, managed funds, and investment funds were introduced in 2017. The framework requires banks to take account of a fund's leverage when determining risk-based capital requirements associated with the investment and more appropriately reflecting the risk of the fund's underlying investments, including the use of a 1,250% risk weight for situations in which there is not sufficient transparency. [25]
A framework for limiting large exposure to external and internal counterparties was implemented in 2018. [13]
In the UK, as of 2024, the Bank of England was in the process of implementing the Basel III framework on large exposures. [26]
A revised securitisation framework, effective in 2018, aims to address shortcomings in the Basel II securitisation framework and to strengthen the capital standards for securitisations held on bank balance sheets. [27] The frameworks addresses the calculation of minimum capital needs for securitisation exposures. [28] [29]
New rules for interest rate risk in the banking book became effective in 2018. Banks are required to calculate their exposures based on "economic value of equity" (EVE) under a set of prescribed interest rate shock scenarios. [30] [31]
Following a Fundamental Review of the Trading Book, minimum capital requirements for market risk in the trading book are based on a better calibrated standardised approach or internal model approval (IMA) for an expected shortfall measure rather than, under Basel II, value at risk. [32]
The Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms standards cover further reforms in six areas: [33]
In the U.S., Basel III applies not only to banks but also to all institutions with more than US$50 billion in assets:
On 15 April 2014, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) released the final version of its "Supervisory Framework for Measuring and Controlling Large Exposures" (SFLE) that builds on longstanding BCBS guidance on credit exposure concentrations. [38]
On 11 March 2016, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision released the second of three proposals on public disclosure of regulatory metrics and qualitative data by banking institutions. The proposal requires disclosures on market risk to be more granular for both the standardized approach and regulatory approval of internal models. [39]
In January 2013, the BCBS extended not only the implementation schedule to 2019, but broadened the definition of liquid assets. [40]
In December 2017, the implementation of the market risk framework was delayed from 2019 to 2022. [41] Implementation of the Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms, the market risk framework, and the revised Pillar 3 disclosure requirements were extended several times, and is now scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2025 with a three-year phase-in period. [5]
Date | Milestone: Capital requirement |
---|---|
2014 | Minimum capital requirements: Start of the gradual phasing-in of the higher minimum capital requirements. |
2015 | Minimum capital requirements: Higher minimum capital requirements were fully implemented. |
2016 | Conservation buffer: Start of the gradual phasing-in of the conservation buffer. |
2019 | Conservation buffer: The conservation buffer was fully implemented. |
Date | Milestone: Leverage ratio |
---|---|
2011 | Supervisory monitoring: Developed templates to track the leverage ratio and the underlying components. |
2013 | Parallel run I: The leverage ratio and its components must be tracked by supervisors but not disclosed and not mandatory. |
2015 | Parallel run II: The leverage ratio and its components must be tracked and disclosed but not mandatory. |
2017 | Final adjustments: Based on the results of the parallel run period, any final adjustments to the leverage ratio. |
2018 | Mandatory requirement: The leverage ratio became a mandatory part of Basel III requirements. |
Date | Milestone: Liquidity requirements |
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2011 | Observation period: Developed templates and supervisory monitoring of the liquidity ratios. |
2015 | Introduction of the LCR: Initial introduction of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), with a 60% requirement. This will increase by ten percentage points each year until 2019. In the EU, 100% will be reached in 2018. [42] |
2018 | Introduction of the NSFR: Introduction of the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR). |
2019 | LCR comes into full effect: 100% LCR. |
The Federal Reserve implemented the Basel III standards in the U.S., with some modifications, via a proposal first published in 2011. [43] Final rules on the liquidity coverage ratio were published in 2014. [44]
The implementing act of the Basel III agreements in the European Union was Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD IV) and Regulation (EU) No. 575/2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms (CRR), which was approved in 2013 and replaced the Capital Requirements Directives (2006/48 and 2006/49). [45] [46] [47]
An OECD study, released on 17 February 2011, projected that the medium-term impact of Basel III implementation on GDP growth would be minimal, in the range of −0.05% to −0.15% per year. [48] [49] [50] Economic output would be mainly affected by an increase in bank lending spreads, as banks pass a rise in bank funding costs, due to higher capital requirements, to their customers. To meet the 2015 capital requirements, banks were estimated to increase their lending spreads on average by about 15 basis points. Capital requirements effective as of 2019 (7% for the common equity ratio, 8.5% for the Tier 1 capital ratio) could increase bank lending spreads by about 50 basis points.[ citation needed ] The estimated effects on GDP growth assume no active response from monetary policy. To the extent that monetary policy would no longer be constrained by the zero lower bound, the Basel III impact on economic output could be offset by a reduction (or delayed increase) in monetary policy rates by about 30 to 80 basis points. [48]
In the United States, higher capital requirements resulted in contractions in trading operations and the number of personnel employed on trading floors. [51]
Basel III does not go far enough in reducing reliance on external credit rating agencies, notably Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's, thus using public policy to strengthen anti-competitive duopolistic practices. The conflicted and unreliable credit ratings of these agencies is generally seen as a major contributor to the 2000s United States housing bubble. [52]
Academics criticized Basel III for continuing to allow large banks to calculate credit risk using internal models and for setting overall minimum capital requirements too low. [53]
Opaque treatment of all derivatives contracts is also criticized. While institutions have many legitimate ("hedging", "insurance") risk reduction reasons to deal in derivatives, the Basel III accords:
Since derivatives present major unknowns in a crisis these are seen as major failings by some critics [54] causing several to claim that the "too big to fail" status remains with respect to major derivatives dealers who aggressively took on risk of an event they did not believe would happen—but did. As Basel III does not absolutely require extreme scenarios that management flatly rejects to be included in stress testing this remains a vulnerability.
The Heritage Foundation argued that capitalization regulation is inherently fruitless due to these and similar problems and—despite an opposite ideological view of regulation—agree that "too big to fail" persists. [55]
Basel III was also criticized as negatively affecting the stability of the financial system by increasing incentives of banks to game the regulatory framework. [56] Notwithstanding the enhancement introduced by the Basel III standard, it argued that "markets often fail to discipline large banks to hold prudent capital levels and make sound investment decisions". [56]
In comments published in October 2012, the American Bankers Association, community banks organized in the Independent Community Bankers of America, and Democratic Party Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski and Representatives Chris Van Hollen and Elijah Cummings of Maryland, said that the Basel III proposals would hurt small banks by increasing their capital holdings dramatically on mortgage and small business loans. [57] [58] [59] [60]
Robert Reich, former United States Secretary of Labor and Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, has argued that Basel III did not go far enough to regulate banks since, he believed, inadequate regulation was a cause of the 2007–2008 financial crisis and remains an unresolved issue despite the severity of the impact of the Great Recession. [61]
In 2019, Michael Burry criticized Basel III for what he characterizes as "more or less remov[ing] price discovery from the credit markets, meaning risk does not have an accurate pricing mechanism in interest rates anymore." [62]
The Institute of International Finance a Washington, D.C.–based, 450-member banking trade association, argued against the implementation of the accords, claiming it would hurt banks and economic growth and add to the paper burden and risk inhibition by banks. [63]
Credit risk is the possibility of losing a lender holds due to a risk of default on a debt that may arise from a borrower failing to make required payments. In the first resort, the risk is that of the lender and includes lost principal and interest, disruption to cash flows, and increased collection costs. The loss may be complete or partial. In an efficient market, higher levels of credit risk will be associated with higher borrowing costs. Because of this, measures of borrowing costs such as yield spreads can be used to infer credit risk levels based on assessments by market participants.
The Basel Accords refer to the banking supervision accords issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).
Banking regulation and supervision refers to a form of financial regulation which subjects banks to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, enforced by a financial regulatory authority generally referred to as banking supervisor, with semantic variations across jurisdictions. By and large, banking regulation and supervision aims at ensuring that banks are safe and sound and at fostering market transparency between banks and the individuals and corporations with whom they conduct business.
Basel II is the second of the Basel Accords, which are recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. It is now extended and partially superseded by Basel III.
A capital requirement is the amount of capital a bank or other financial institution has to have as required by its financial regulator. This is usually expressed as a capital adequacy ratio of equity as a percentage of risk-weighted assets. These requirements are put into place to ensure that these institutions do not take on excess leverage and risk becoming insolvent. Capital requirements govern the ratio of equity to debt, recorded on the liabilities and equity side of a firm's balance sheet. They should not be confused with reserve requirements, which govern the assets side of a bank's balance sheet—in particular, the proportion of its assets it must hold in cash or highly-liquid assets. Capital is a source of funds, not a use of funds.
Financial risk management is the practice of protecting economic value in a firm by managing exposure to financial risk - principally credit risk and market risk, with more specific variants as listed aside - as well as some aspects of operational risk. As for risk management more generally, financial risk management requires identifying the sources of risk, measuring these, and crafting plans to mitigate them. See Finance § Risk management for an overview.
Tier 1 capital is the core measure of a bank's financial strength from a regulator's point of view. It is composed of core capital, which consists primarily of common stock and disclosed reserves, but may also include non-redeemable non-cumulative preferred stock. The Basel Committee also observed that banks have used innovative instruments over the years to generate Tier 1 capital; these are subject to stringent conditions and are limited to a maximum of 15% of total Tier 1 capital. This part of the Tier 1 capital will be phased out during the implementation of Basel III.
Basel I is the first Basel Accord. It arose from deliberations by central bankers from major countries during the late 1970s and 1980s. In 1988, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in Basel, Switzerland, published a set of minimum capital requirements for banks. It is also known as the 1988 Basel Accord, and was enforced by law in the Group of Ten (G-10) countries in 1992.
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) also known as Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR), is the ratio of a bank's capital to its risk. National regulators track a bank's CAR to ensure that it can absorb a reasonable amount of loss and complies with statutory Capital requirements.
Valuation risk is the risk that an entity suffers a loss when trading an asset or a liability due to a difference between the accounting value and the price effectively obtained in the trade.
A Credit valuation adjustment (CVA), in financial mathematics, is an "adjustment" to a derivative's price, as charged by a bank to a counterparty to compensate it for taking on the credit risk of that counterparty during the life of the transaction. CVA is one of a family of related valuation adjustments, collectively xVA; for further context here see Financial economics § Derivative pricing. "CVA" can refer more generally to several related concepts, as delineated aside. The most common transactions attracting CVA involve interest rate derivatives, foreign exchange derivatives, and combinations thereof. CVA has a specific capital charge under Basel III, and may also result in earnings volatility under IFRS 13, and is therefore managed by a specialized desk.
Macroprudential regulation is the approach to financial regulation that aims to mitigate risk to the financial system as a whole. After the 2007–2008 financial crisis, there has been a growing consensus among policymakers and economic researchers about the need to re-orient the regulatory framework towards a macroprudential perspective.
During the financial crisis of 2007–2008, several banks, including the UK's Northern Rock and the U.S. investment banks Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, suffered a liquidity crisis, due to their over-reliance on short-term wholesale funding from the interbank lending market. As a result, the G20 launched an overhaul of banking regulation known as Basel III. In addition to changes in capital requirements, Basel III also contains two entirely new liquidity requirements: the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) and the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR).
A systemically important financial institution (SIFI) is a bank, insurance company, or other financial institution whose failure might trigger a financial crisis. They are colloquially referred to as "too big to fail".
Under the Basel II guidelines, banks are allowed to use their own estimated risk parameters for the purpose of calculating regulatory capital. This is known as the internal ratings-based (IRB) approach to capital requirements for credit risk. Only banks meeting certain minimum conditions, disclosure requirements and approval from their national supervisor are allowed to use this approach in estimating capital for various exposures.
Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms, sometimes called the Basel III Endgame, Basel 3.1 or CRR3, are changes to international standards for bank capital requirements that were agreed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in 2017. The standards were due for implementation by member jurisdictions in January 2023, although most jurisdictions are running behind this timeline. They amend the international banking standards known as the Basel Accords.
X-Value Adjustment is an umbrella term referring to a number of different “valuation adjustments” that banks must make when assessing the value of derivative contracts that they have entered into. The purpose of these is twofold: primarily to hedge for possible losses due to other parties' failures to pay amounts due on the derivative contracts; but also to determine the amount of capital required under the bank capital adequacy rules. XVA has led to the creation of specialized desks in many banking institutions to manage XVA exposures.
Liquidity regulations are financial regulations designed to ensure that financial institutions have the necessary assets on hand in order to prevent liquidity disruptions due to changing market conditions. This is often related to reserve requirement and capital requirement but focuses on the specific liquidity risk of assets that are held.
The Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB), is a set of proposals by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision for a new market risk-related capital requirement for banks.
The standardized approach for counterparty credit risk (SA-CCR) is the capital requirement framework under Basel III addressing counterparty risk for derivative trades. It was published by the Basel Committee in March 2014. See Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms.
Tier 3 will be abolished to ensure that market risks are met with the same quality of capital as credit and operational risks.