Meeting of G10 central bank governors and heads of banking supervision

Press release  | 
10 March 2003

The G10 central bank governors and heads of banking supervision met on 9 March in Basel to discuss issues related to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

The participants in the meeting confirmed the ongoing importance of the Committee's work, in particular the common development and mutual recognition of approaches to capital adequacy regulation and the establishment of global benchmarks in this regard. These efforts provide a critical foundation for international cooperation in relation to the stability of the global banking system.

The participants reaffirmed their strong support for updating the existing Capital Accord and welcomed the progress that the Committee has been making on this important project. Based on a discussion of the Committee's work, the participants supported the Committee's plans and its intention to release a third consultative package for public comment by early May. The participants believe that this additional opportunity for comment will provide the basis for a successful conclusion to the Committee's efforts to develop, on the timetable previously announced, a Capital Accord that is more closely aligned with risks in the banking system.

The participants expressed their deep appreciation and gratitude for the work done by William J McDonough as chairman of the Basel Committee. His leadership has been indispensable in advancing the work of the Committee, in particular to ensuring the success of the efforts to revise the Capital Accord. The participants also thanked Claes Norgren for his outstanding work as Chairman of the Committee's Capital Task Force while he was Chairman of the Financial Services Authority Sweden.

Having announced his retirement as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, effective 21 July 2003, Mr McDonough will relinquish the chairmanship of the Basel Committee as of 1 July. The participants agreed that he will be succeeded as Chairman of the Basel Committee by Mr Jaime Caruana, Governor of the Bank of Spain. Mr Nick LePan, Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada, will serve in the newly established position of Vice Chairman of the Committee.