The scramble for capital
More questions than answers
Tougher trading
The financial crisis has served to sharpen divisions, especially between Europe and the US, about the best way that bank risk should be assessed and measured. The Basle II capital adequacy framework has come under attack from several senior US officials, including Sheila Bair, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. She has always argued that Basle II would lead to banks holding less capital against their risks.
The lack of agreement over Basle II meant that, while European banks and those...
