The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) sets the guidelines for world-wide regulation of banks. It is the forum for agreeing international regulation on the conduct of banking. Based on special access to the archives of the BCBS and interviews with many of its key players, this book tells the story of the early years of the Committee from its foundation in 1974/5 right through until 1997 - the year that marks the watershed between the Basel I Accord on Capital Adequacy and the start of work on Basel II. In addition, the book covers the Concordat, the Market Risk Amendment, the Core Principles of Banking and all other facets of the work of the BCBS. While the book is primarily a record of the history of the BCBS, it also provides an assessment of its actions and efficacy. It is a major contribution to the historical record on banking supervision.
The quality of financial sector supervision has emerged as a key issue from the financial crisis. While most countries operated broadly under the same regulatory standards, differences emerged in supervisory approaches. The international response to this crisis has focused on the need for more and better regulations (e.g., in areas such as bank capital, liquidity and provisioning) and on developing a framework to address systemic risks, but there has been less discussion of how supervision itself could be strengthened. The IMF's work in assessing compliance with financial sector standards over the past decade in member countries suggests that while progress is being made in putting regulation in place, work remains to be done in many countries to strengthen supervision. How can this enhanced supervision be achieved? Based on an examination of lessons from the crisis and the findings of these assessments of countries' compliance with financial standards, the paper identifies the following key elements of good supervision-that it is intrusive, skeptical, proactive, comprehensive, adaptive, and conclusive. To achieve these elements, the "ability" to supervise, which requires appropriate resources, authority, organization and constructive working relationships with other agencies must be complemented by the "will" to act. Supervisors must be willing and empowered to take timely and effective action, to intrude on decision-making, to question common wisdom, and to take unpopular decisions. Developing this "will to act" is a more difficult task and requires that supervisors have a clear and unambiguous mandate, operational independence coupled with accountability, skilled staff, and a relationship with industry that avoids "regulatory capture." These essential elements of good supervision need to be given as much attention as the regulatory reforms that are being contemplated at both national and international levels. Indeed, only if supervision is strengthened can we hope to effectively deliver on the challenging-but crucial-regulatory reform agenda. For this to happen, society must stand with supervisors as they play their role as naysayers in times of exuberance.
A detailed assessment report on the observance of China’s compliance of Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision is presented. Regulation and supervision of China’s banking system has made impressive progress in the past few years, led by an activist, forward-looking regulator, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, with a clear safety and soundness mandate that has been supported by banks and by the State. The macroeconomic environment is characterized by rapid growth, with concerns about overheating and asset price overvaluation.
This paper studies whether compliance with the Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision (BCPs) is associated with bank soundness. Using data for over 3,000 banks in 86countries, we find that neither the overall index of BCP compliance nor its individual components are robustly associated with bank risk measured by Z-scores. We also fail to find a relationship between BCP compliance and systemic risk measured by a system-wide Zscore.
This report evaluates the Observance of the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision in India. It highlights that the supervision and regulation by the Reserve Bank of India remain strong and have improved in recent years. A key achievement is implementation of a risk-based supervisory approach that uses a complex supervisory assessment framework to guide the intensity of supervisory actions and the allocation of supervisory resources. Also, most of the Basel III framework has been implemented and cooperation arrangements, both domestically and cross-border, are now firmly in place. The system-wide asset quality review and the strengthening of prudential regulations in 2015 testify to the authorities’ commitment to transparency and a more accurate recognition of banking risks.
This assessment of insurance supervision and regulation in Japan was carried out as part of the 2024 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). This assessment has been made against the Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) issued by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) in November 2019. The assessment includes the standards of the Common Framework for the Supervision of Internationally Active Insurance Groups (ComFrame). It is based on the laws, regulations and other supervisory requirements, and practices that were in place at the time of the assessment in September and October 2023.
Analytical background -- Nature of systemic risk -- Who should be regulated (by whom) -- Counter-cyclical regulation -- Regulation of liquidity and maturity mismatches -- Other regulatory issues -- The structure of regulation -- Conclusions -- Appendix : the boundary problem in financial regulation -- Discussion and roundtables.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) recently revised the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision (BCP). The BCP are the de facto minimum standards for the sound prudential regulation and supervision of banks and banking systems and are universally applicable. This comprehensive update, the first since 2012, reflects the evolving financial landscape and incorporates feedback from a wide range of stakeholders including BCBS members, nonmember countries, the IMF, and the WBG. After extensive consultation, the revised BCP were approved by the BCBS in February 2024, and endorsed by the International Conference of Banking Supervisors in April 2024. The revised BCP document is a response to regulatory developments and structural changes within the banking industry over the last decade. It addresses the lessons learned over the last 10 years, including from the pandemic and the March 2023 banking turmoil; key findings from assessments under the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP); and new challenges posed by ongoing structural transformations, notably digitalization and climate change. The revisions emphasize the importance of operational resilience, systemic risk management, and the adoption of a proportional approach to supervision, catering to the global diversity of banks and banking system.
This paper reviews the experience to date in assessing countries’ compliance with the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision (BCP). This review is based on 136 assessments conducted under the FSAP/OFC programs, using the methodology associated with the 1997 version of the BCP. It follows earlier reviews presented to the Board in 2000, 2002, and 2004. The Fund has developed a strong collaborative relationship with the Basel Committee in promoting financial stability, in particular, in its work through the FSAP program in assessing (together with the Word Bank) the quality of countries’ supervisory structures. Experience gained from these assessments are also being reported back to the Committee through the Fund’s participation in Basel working groups, and staff has also been actively involved in the update of the BCP in 2006, with the objective of maintaining the BCP’s relevance as a global standard of good practice.
