Hurry up, Basel

7 January 2010 By Peter Thal Larsen Follow @Peter_TL

Regulators meeting in Basel this weekend are right to be worried about renewed risktaking. But some risks are the result of the authorities’ efforts to prop up the financial system. The best way to rein in the banks is to hurry up and implement proposed new banking rules.

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Context News

Central bankers and financial institutions are to meet in the Swiss town of Basel on Jan. 9 amid concerns that banks are once again taking excessive risks.

Several senior privatesector banks have been invited to attend the meeting of the Financial Stability Board, which brings together the world's financial regulators.

Invitations to the meeting expressed concern that "financial firms are returning to the aggressive behaviour that prevailed during the precrisis period," the Financial Times reported.

In December, the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision published a series of proposed new rules setting minimum standards for banks' capital and liquidity. The committee is now studying the impact of implementing those new rules on the financial system before recommending final standards by the end of 2010. The new rules would have to be adopted by the end of 2012.

The Baselbased Bank for International Settlements confirmed that private banks had been invited to attend the meeting, but refused to identify them. The FT said Larry Fink, chief executive of BlackRock , and Vikram Pandit, chief executive of Citigroup , were expected to attend

Context News

Central bankers and financial institutions are to meet in the Swiss town of Basel on Jan. 9 amid concerns that banks are once again taking excessive risks.

Several senior privatesector banks have been invited to attend the meeting of the Financial Stability Board, which brings together the world's financial regulators.

Invitations to the meeting expressed concern that "financial firms are returning to the aggressive behaviour that prevailed during the precrisis period," the Financial Times reported.

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