Basel trouble brewing in Europe's accession countries

Domestic banks and corporate banking customers in central and eastern Europe could have trouble adapting to the changes the revised Basel Accord would have on their economies.

Dr. Hubert Figl, head of the credit risk management divison at Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich, in Vienna, warned the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in mid-February of the effects of Basel II adoption on countries in that region.

Figl says that awareness of the Basel II proposals in the accession countries—those nations applying to become members of the European Union over the next few years—has risen during the past few months thanks in part to publicity