Basel III: Necessary, but not sufficient

Remarks by Wayne Byres, Secretary of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, prepared for the Financial Stability Institute's 6th Biennial Conference on Risk Management and Supervision, Basel, 6 November 2012.
BCBS speech  | 
06 November 2012

I am pleased to deliver this keynote address to the Financial Stability Institute's 6th Biennial Conference on Risk Management and Supervision. The Basel Committee regards its continuing partnership with the FSI as both important and highly productive. This conference is a great example of the FSI's ability to bring regulators and supervisors together from around the globe to discuss important regulatory issues. The agenda for today and tomorrow looks extremely interesting, and the range and quality of speakers is impressive. We are very pleased to be able to support this Conference, and I hope you all have an enjoyable stay in Basel.

My main message to you this afternoon is that implementing Basel III is essential, but it must be accompanied by other measures and reforms so that a truly healthy banking system is secured for the future. We need our regulatory and supervisory approaches to work in tandem, as neither is sufficient on its own. We must implement Basel III and the other agreed reforms in a full and timely manner, upgrade our supervisory capabilities, and be responsive to stress and risks as they arise. We cannot guarantee a 'no more crises' era ahead, but we can assure enhanced resilience.