In an effort to prevent risks to systemic stability, global banking regulators published a proposed new supervisory framework for measuring and controlling large exposures Tuesday.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published a proposed new standard that aims to ensure greater consistency in the way banks and regulators measure, aggregate, and control exposures to single counterparties. It says that the standard would supplement the existing risk-based capital framework by protecting banks from substantive losses caused by the sudden default of a counterparty.
The proposed new framework focuses on the concentration risk associated with the default of single counterparties, and would also apply to exposures to a group of connected counterparties. It covers direct exposures to counterparties across all operations and books, as well as exposures to providers of credit protection.
The proposals come in response to some of the key lessons from the financial crisis. For one, during the crisis, banks did not always consistently measure and control exposures to single counterparties across their books and operations. The Basel Committee also notes that there have been historic instances of banks failing due to concentrated exposures to individual counterparties.
Additionally, the crisis highlighted how material losses in one systemically important financial institution can trigger concerns about the solvency of other systemically important firms, “with potentially catastrophic consequences for global financial stability.” The Basel Committee says it believes that the large exposures framework is a tool that could be used to mitigate the risk of contagion between global systemically important banks.
Finally, it includes proposals to strengthen the oversight and regulation of the shadow banking system in relation to large exposures. In particular, the committee says its proposals include policy measures designed to capture bank-like activities conducted by non-banks.
Comments on the proposals are due by June 28.