Bye, robot: regulators rein in capital models

The Basel Committee’s review of trading book capital rules aims to reduce banks’ reliance on internal models. It’s part of a new regulatory philosophy on capital modelling – but it could prompt some banks to turn their backs on the discipline altogether. Laurie Carver reports

Outside the hotel, Chicago was warming up – the previous day’s rain had stopped, the fog had lifted and the city’s towering skyscrapers were outlined against a sky with more blue in it than grey. Inside the hotel, the conference was winding down. It was May 2, the last session of the last day of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s annual conference, and a former regulator was