Basel II
Basel's new credit model
The Basel Committee’s new consultative paper allows banks to internally rate individual credits. But at the portfolio level, Basel wants to apply a single model framework, based in part on a technical paper published in Risk magazine in October 1998.
Openness essential to avoid Basel II Op Risk inconsistency, say credit-raters
Openness and disclosure between banks and global regulators will be "highly desirable, if not essential" if there are not to be major inconsistencies in setting operational risk charges after 2004.
The Op Risk questions which US banks must answer
US banking regulators want US banks to review and comment on all aspects of the new Basel capital adequacy accord proposed by global banking supervisors. The deadline for receiving comments is May 31, 2001.
Five reasons why regulators should approve the loss-distribution approach
The Basel Committee shied away from the most risk-sensitive way of calculating an op risk charge, says Michael Haubenstock. He argues for a green light.
Documentation dilemmas
Concerns over credit event definitions and the Basel Committee’s ‘ w ’ capital charge on credit mitigation instruments will not be easily resolved.
A risk-control model for operational risk capital
Basel II's op risk proposals should allow for a simple internal model, argues Tony Blunden in his second article on the new capital adequacy accord.
Critics attack European Union plans to follow Basel II
Critics of the European Union's plans to make all investment firms - not just banks - set aside capital against the risk of losses from operational hazards such as fraud, computer breakdowns and trade settlement failures, say their fears were confirmed…
The case of the missing controls?
The Basel regulators' proposals for operational risk aren't as risk-sensitive as the committee seems to think, says Tony Blunden. He argues the supervisors should pay more attention to recent developments in corporate governance.
No time to lose...
Operational risk management software will be essential under Basel II. And it means something more than a loss database, argues software supplier David Withey.
A beginning, not an end...
There's a host of operational risk issues still to be ironed out by the global banking industry and its supervisors. Bank regulator Jeremy Quick considers the key questions.
A lot of loose ends and not much time
There's little surprise, but reactions still range from cautious approval to outright hostility. And all sides agree that some very big loose ends remain to be tied up on a very tight schedule.
Basel part one: the new accord
The Basel Committee’s second consultative paper on reform of the 1988 Accord on capital holds some surprises. Some believe regulatory capital will now have to rise. Dwight Cass reviews the changes.
Basel part two: the jury's verdict
Twelve risk experts and regulators assess the impact of the Basel Committee's proposals.
Marking the cards at ANZ
Mark Lawrence of ANZ Group describes how the bank chose and developed a “scorecard” approach to measuring operational risks, and how – 12 months after the start of the project –it is already achieving a more efficient allocation of capital.
Basel reform: why the market should decide
The 1988 Basel Accord made bank capital rules more precise. But this did not save the Japanese banking system or slow the erosion of credit intermediation by US banks. Mark Brickell, managing director at JP Morgan in New York, has been an architect of…
Stress tests and risk capital
For many financial institutions, "stress tests" are an important input into processes that set risk capital allocations. In the current regulatory environment, two distinct model-based approaches for setting regulatory capital requirements include stress…
A coherent framework for stress testing
In recent months and years, practitioners and regulators have embraced the idea of supplementing value-at-risk estimates with "stress testing". Risk managers are beginning to place an emphasis and expend resources on developing more and better stress…
The maturity offset problem
Regulation
Hedge funds: changing the rules of the game
Spurred by new guidelines from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, investment banks have seized the initiative and are changing the way they conduct prime brokerage and other business with hedge funds.
Modeling and measuring operational risk
Recent operational risk events such as occurred at Barings, Daiwa, Sumitomo, and other institutions show the importance of measuring and controlling such operational risk. In this paper the authors present a quantitative operational risk measurement…
VaR-x: Fat tails in financial risk management
To ensure a competent regulatory framework with respect to value-at-risk (VaR) for establishing a bank's capital adequacy requirements, as promoted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the parametric approach for estimating VaR needs to…