This chapter sets out the minimum regulatory capital requirements under the risk-based framework and how banks must calculate risk-weighted assets.
Banks must meet the following requirements at all times:
Common Equity Tier 1 must be at least 4.5% of risk-weighted assets (RWA).
Tier 1 capital must be at least 6% of RWA.
Total capital must be at least 8.0% of RWA.1
The Basel framework describes how to calculate RWA for credit risk, market risk and operational risk. The requirements for calculating RWA allow banks to use different approaches, some of which banks may only use with supervisory approval. The nominated approaches of a bank comprise all the approaches that the bank is using to calculate regulatory capital requirements, other than those approaches used solely for the purpose of the capital floor calculation outlined below. The nominated approaches of a bank may include those that it has supervisory approval to use and those for which supervisory approval is not required.
Before a bank can calculate RWA for credit risk and RWA for market risk, it must follow the requirements of RBC25 to identify the instruments that are in the trading book. The banking book comprises all instruments that are not in the trading book and all other assets of the bank (hereafter “banking book exposures”).
RWA for credit risk (including counterparty credit risk) is calculated as the sum of:
Credit RWA for equity investments in funds that are held in the banking book calculated using one or more of the approaches set out in CRE60:
The look-through approach
The mandate-based approach
The fall-back approach
RWA for securitisation exposures held in the banking book, calculated using one or more of the approaches set out in CRE40 to CRE44:
Securitisation Standardised Approach (SEC-SA)
Securitisation External Ratings-Based Approach (SEC-ERBA)
Internal Assessment Approach (IAA)
Securitisation Internal Ratings-Based Approach (SEC-IRBA)
A risk weight of 1250% in cases where the bank cannot use (a) to (d) above.
RWA for exposures to central counterparties in the banking book and trading book, calculated using the approach set out in CRE54.
RWA for the risk posed by unsettled transactions and failed trades, where these transactions are in the banking book or trading book and are within scope of the rules set out in CRE70.
The approaches listed in RBC20.6 specify how banks must measure the size of their exposures (ie the exposure at default) and determine their RWA. Certain types of exposures in the banking book and trading book give rise to counterparty credit risk for which the measurement of the size of the exposure can be complex (see CRE51 for an overview of the counterparty credit risk requirements). Therefore, the approaches listed above include, or refer to, the following methods available to determine the size of counterparty credit risk exposures:
The standardised approach for measuring counterparty credit risk exposures (SA-CCR), set out in CRE52.
The internal models method (IMM), set out in CRE53.
For banks that have supervisory approval to use IMM, RWA for credit risk must be calculated as the higher of:
the sum of elements (1) to (6) in RBC20.6 calculated using IMM with current parameter calibrations; and
the sum of the elements in RBC20.6 using IMM with stressed parameter calibrations.
RWA for market risk are calculated as the sum of the following:
RWA for credit valuation adjustment (CVA) risk for exposures in the trading book and banking book, calculated in line with MAR50 using either:
the standardised approach for CVA; or
the advanced approach for CVA.
Banks using the IRB approach for credit risk or the AMA for operational risk are subject to a capital floor.
If the floor amount is larger, banks must add 12.5 times the difference in calculating RWA to the sum of RWA for credit risk, market risk and operational risk in order to determine compliance with the minimum capital requirements (as described in RBC20.4).
The floor amount is calculated as 80% of the following sum, all elements of which are calculated under the 1988 Accord:
8% of RWA; plus
Tier 1 and Tier 2 deductions; less
the amount of general provisions that have been recognised as Tier 2 capital.
The comparison amount is calculated as follows, with all elements calculated according to this framework:
8% of total RWA; less
the difference, where positive, between total provisions and expected loss amount as described in CRE35); less
where a bank uses the standardised approach to credit risk for any portion of its exposures, general provisions that have been recognised as Tier 2 capital for that portion; plus
other Tier 1 and Tier 2 deductions.
The Committee recognises that floors based on the 1988 Accord will become increasingly impractical to implement over time and therefore believes that supervisors should have the flexibility to develop appropriate bank-by-bank floors, subject to full disclosure of the nature of the floors adopted. Such floors may be based on the approach the bank was using before adoption of the IRB approach and/or AMA.
One possible alternative floor, for banks not migrating directly to an IRB approach or AMA from rules based on the 1988 Accord, is to calculate the floor based on the non-modelling approach used prior to migration to the IRB approach or AMA. The prior non-modelling approach must be updated to reflect the prevailing Basel capital standards in force at the time of the floor calculation. The use of this alternative is subject to supervisory approval.