EU to adopt new Basel rules in 2011

Euractiv.com reports that the European Commission yesterday (13 September) announced plans to adopt new capital rules for banks next year after the Basel Banking Committee agreed to higher capital standards on Sunday (12 September).

The EU's adoption of the Basel rules will take the form of a revision of the directives on capital requirements. This will be the fourth revision of the bloc's Capital Requirements Directive after the European Parliament approved CRD III early this summer.


Banks will have to store up to 7% more capital as a line of defence against future crashes in stock markets. Common equity requirements have been hiked from 2.5% to 4% and banks will also be expected to have capital buffers of 2.5%.


The Basel rules are subject to approval in November by the next G20 group meeting in Seoul.

Read the entire article here: http://www.euractiv.com/en/financial-services/eu-adopt-new-basel-rules-2011-news-497736