Con Basilea 2, i buoi non scappavano ...

Let me elaborate a bit more on how Basel II does a better job of capturing the types of risk that banks increasingly face. Some of the most important areas relevant to the current crisis are the following:
• First, Basel II delivers greater risk differentiation. Banks that move from prime into subprime mortgage lending or that move from traditional corporate lending into leveraged lending will see an increase in their capital commensurate with the changing business strategy and risk profile. Under Basel I, all such exposures receive the same charge.
• Second, off-balance sheet contractual exposures to SIVs and conduits will be brought into the fold and subject to regulatory capital, whatever the accounting treatment.
• Third, there will be a much more risk sensitive treatment for securitisation exposures. This will create more neutral incentives between retaining an exposure on the balance sheet or distributing it in the market through securitisation.

Basel II – market developments and financial institution resiliency, Opening address by Dr Nout Wellink, President of the Netherlands Bank and Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, at the Risk Minds Asia Conference – Basel II Implementation Summit, Singapore, 4 March 2008.

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