Viewpoint: Basel II Must Result In Fair Play - Regulations Such As Basel II Improve Risk Management And Transparency But They Must Be Well Designed And Consistent, Says ING Vice-chairman And CFO Cees Maas.

Banker, The, June, 2005

A Google search on "Basel II" yields a respectable number of hits. What's more, Basel II accounts for 60% of the total hits on Basel. (Admittedly, this includes the search result of the Champions League soccer game Ferencvaros 1 - Basel 2, but it illustrates that Basel II has a high standing.)

Am I happy with Basel II? Yes and no. Yes, because it is built on sound economic principles and is set to reinforce financial stability in general. No, because I fear that difficulties will arise in its implementation.

Major drawbacks

There is a serious possibility that some national regulators may add too many additional requirements to the basic framework and fail to wholeheartedly co- operate with their fellow regulators in other countries. If the...

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