The oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has reached broad agreement on capital and liquidity reforms for global banks.

The Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision said Monday they have agreed on the overall design of the capital and liquidity reform package, including the definition of capital, the treatment of counterparty credit risk, the leverage ratio, and the global liquidity standard. The committee will finalize the regulatory buffers before the end of this year.

The committee retained most of the definition of capital proposals set out in a consultation paper released in December 2009. However, the banking industry has been lobbying for changes, and the committee has agreed that “certain deductions could have potentially adverse consequences for particular business models and provisioning practices, and may not appropriately take into account evidence of realizable valuations during periods of extreme stress”.

The overseers have agreed to amendments, including changes to the definition of capital related to minority interests; a modification to the treatment of counterparty credit risk; establishing a leverage ratio to be implemented in 2018; and revisions to the liquidity coverage ratio requirements.

“The agreements reached today are a landmark achievement to strengthen banking sector resilience in a manner that reflects the key lessons of the crisis,” said Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank and chairman of the oversight group.

Nout Wellink, chairman of the Basel Committee and president of the Netherlands Bank added that the announcements today should provide additional transparency about the design of the Basel Committee reforms, thus reducing market uncertainty and further supporting the economic recovery. “Many banks have already made substantial strides in strengthening their capital and liquidity base,” he added. “The phase-in arrangements will enable the banking sector to meet the new standards through reasonable earnings retention and capital raising.”

The Basel Committee will issue its economic impact assessment of the proposed new regime in August. It will issue further details of the capital and liquidity reforms later this year.

IE