US regulators split over the future of Basel II

Washington, DC -- US regulators continued to air their differences of opinion on the future of the Basel II document within that country in competing speeches and statements during December 2003. By and large, the Federal Reserve remained the most supportive of Basel II within the US, while the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) both expressed doubts about certain aspects of the international agreement.

Federal Reserve vice-chairman Roger Ferguson opened the month with a speech at a risk management conference in which he indicated that the number of mandatory banks adopting Basel II in the US could grow before the US rulemaking process is finished, and that foreign banks that meet the US’s criteria for Basel II adoption could be placed in the mandatory category. Mandatory banks in the US will be