Question

Significant Financial institutions are governed by the Basel Accords, as published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Define the core elements of Basel II.

What shortfalls were evident in this Capital Accord during the 2007-2009 Financial Crises?

Define the core elements of Basel III, and how did these improve upon the prior Basel Accords,

Answer 1

The core elements of Basel II are as following:

1. Capital Adequacy Requirements

   It improves on the policies of Basel I by taking into consideration operational risks in addition to credit risks associated with risk-weighted assets (RWA). It requires banks to maintain a minimum capital adequacy requirement of 8% of its RWA. Basel II also provides banks with more informed approaches to calculate capital requirements based on credit risk, while taking into account each type of asset’s risk profile and specific characteristics.

2. Supervisory Review

   It was added owing to the necessity of efficient supervision and lack thereof in Basel I, pertaining to the assessment of a bank’s internal capital adequacy. Under Pillar 2, banks are obligated to assess the internal capital adequacy for covering all risks they can potentially face in the course of their operations. The supervisor is responsible for ascertaining whether the bank uses appropriate assessment approaches and covers all risks associated.

3. Market Discipline

   It aims to ensure market discipline by making it mandatory to disclose relevant market information. This is done to make sure that the users of financial information receive the relevant information to make informed trading decisions and ensure market discipline.

The core elements of Basel III are as following:

1. Minimum Capital Requirements

   The Basel III accord raised the minimum capital requirements for banks from 2% in Basel II to 4.5% of common equity, as a percentage of the bank’s risk-weighted assets. There is also an additional 2.5% buffer capital requirement that brings the total minimum requirement to 7%. Banks can use the buffer when faced with financial stress, but doing so can lead to even more financial constraints when paying dividends.

2. Leverage Ratio

   Basel III introduced a non-risk-based leverage ratio to serve as a backstop to the risk-based capital requirements. Banks are required to hold a leverage ratio in excess of 3%. The non-risk-based leverage ratio is calculated by dividing Tier 1 capital by the average total consolidated assets of a bank.

3. Liquidity Requirements

   Basel III introduced the usage of two liquidity ratios – the Liquidity Coverage Ratio and the Net Stable Funding Ratio. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio requires banks to hold sufficient highly liquid assets that can withstand a 30-day stressed funding scenario as specified by the supervisors. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio mandate was introduced in 2015 at only 60% of its stated requirements and is expected to increase by 10% each year till 2019 when it takes full effect.

Basel III is part of the continuous effort to enhance the banking regulatory framework. It builds on the Basel I and Basel II documents, and seeks to improve the banking sector's ability to deal with financial stress, improve risk management, and strengthen the banks' transparency. A focus of Basel III is to foster greater resilience at the individual bank level in order to reduce the risk of system-wide shocks.