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Basel Framework

The Basel Framework is the full set of standards of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), which is the primary global standard setter for the prudential regulation of banks. The membership of the BCBS has agreed to fully implement these standards and apply them to the internationally active banks in their jurisdictions. The background page describes the framework's structure and how to navigate it.

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View the framework as it was / will be on a specific date
CRE45

Securitisations of non-performing loans

This chapter describes how to calculate capital requirements for exposures to securitisations of non-performing loans.

  • Effective as of: 01 Jan 2023
  • Last update: 26 Nov 2020
  • Status Current
45.1

A non-performing loan securitisation (NPL securitisation) means a securitisation where the underlying pool's variable W, as defined in CRE41.6, is equal to or higher than 90% at the origination cut-off date and at any subsequent date on which assets are added to or removed from the underlying pool due to replenishment, restructuring or any other relevant reason. The underlying pool of exposures of an NPL securitisation may only comprise loans, loan-equivalent financial instruments or tradable instruments used for the sole purpose of loan subparticipation as referred to in CRE40.24(2). Loan-equivalent financial instruments include, for example, bonds not listed on a trading venue. For the avoidance of doubt, an NPL securitisation may not be backed by exposures to other securitisations.

45.2

National supervisors may provide for a stricter definition of NPL securitisations than that laid out in CRE45.1. For these purposes, national supervisors may:

  1. raise the minimum level of W to a level higher than 90%; or
  2. require that the non-delinquent exposures in the underlying pool comply with a set of minimum criteria, or preclude certain types of non-delinquent exposures from forming part of the underlying pools of NPL securitisations.

Without prejudice to the foregoing, national supervisors should scrutinise NPL securitisations to prevent any instances of regulatory arbitrage. In particular, national supervisors should preclude transactions executed with the main purpose of reducing the capital charge on the non-delinquent exposures in the underlying relative to the 100% risk weight on the senior exposure to the NPL securitisation referred to in CRE45.5.

45.3

A bank is precluded from applying the SEC-IRBA to an exposure to an NPL securitisation where the bank uses the foundation approach as referred to in CRE30.35 to calculate the KIRB of the underlying pool of exposures.

45.4

The risk weight applicable to exposures to NPL securitisations according to SEC-IRBA (CRE44), SEC-SA (CRE41) or the look-through approach in CRE40.50 is floored at 100%.

45.5

Where, according to the hierarchy of approaches in CRE40.41 to CRE40.47, the bank must use the SEC-IRBA or the SEC-SA, a bank may apply a risk weight of 100% to the senior tranche of an NPL securitisation provided that the NPL securitisation is a traditional securitisation and the sum of the non-refundable purchase price discounts (NRPPD), calculated as described in CRE45.6, is equal to or higher than 50% of the outstanding balance of the pool of exposures.

45.6

For the purposes of CRE45.5, NRPPD is the difference between the outstanding balance of the exposures in the underlying pool and the price at which these exposures are sold by the originator to the securitisation entity, when neither originator nor the original lender are reimbursed for this difference. In cases where the originator underwrites tranches of the NPL securitisation for subsequent sale, the NRPPD may include the differences between the nominal amount of the tranches and the price at which these tranches are first sold to unrelated third parties. For any given piece of a securitisation tranche, only its initial sale from the originator to investors is taken into account in the determination of NRPPD. The purchase prices of subsequent re-sales are not considered.

45.7

An originator or sponsor bank may apply the capital requirement cap specified in CRE40.54 to the aggregated capital requirement for its exposures to the same NPL securitisation. The same applies to an investor bank, provided that it is using the SEC-IRBA for an exposure to the NPL securitisation.

Background to the Basel Framework

The Basel Framework is a consolidated version of the full set of standards of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), which is the primary global standard setter for the prudential regulation of banks. The membership of the BCBS has agreed to fully implement these standards and apply them to the internationally active banks in their jurisdictions.

Structure

The framework comprises the 14 standards listed below. Each standard is divided into chapters, and many chapters have multiple versions, eg a chapter may have a version that is applicable now and one that will become applicable after the Basel III reforms have been implemented. The full breakdown of all chapters and versions is available here.

If you would like to explore the source material for the consolidated Basel Framework, there is a mapping table that links each of the paragraphs of the BCBS's original published standards to their locations within the first published version the framework.

Other features of the framework include:

  • Interactive cross-references to make it easier to navigate.
  • A "time traveller" feature, which lets you select a future date and see the framework as it is due to apply at that date.
  • Answers to frequently asked questions displayed directly underneath the paragraphs to which they relate.
  • A section to view all past and future planned changes to the Basel Framework.
  • An improved search function, which makes it easier to find specific content in each standard.

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the consolidated Basel Framework, please let us know at baselcommittee@bis.org.

This standard describes the scope of application of the Basel Framework.

This standard describes the criteria that bank capital instruments must meet to be eligible to satisfy the Basel capital requirements, as well as necessary regulatory adjustments and transitional arrangements.

This standard describes the framework for risk-based capital requirements.

This standard describes how to calculate capital requirements for credit risk.

This standard describes how to calculate capital requirements for market risk and credit valuation adjustment risk.

This standard describes how to calculate capital requirements for operational risk.

This standard describes the simple, transparent, non-risk-based leverage ratio. This measure intends to restrict the build-up of leverage in the banking sector and reinforce the risk-based requirements with a simple, non-risk-based "backstop" measure.

This standard describes the Liquidity Coverage Ratio, a measure which promotes the short-term resilience of a bank's liquidity risk profile.

The net stable funding ratio requires banks to maintain a stable funding profile in relation to the composition of their assets and off-balance-sheet activities.

Large exposures regulation limits the maximum loss that a bank could face in the event of a sudden counterparty failure to a level that does not endanger the bank's solvency. This standard requires banks to measure their exposures to a single counterparty or a group of connected counterparties and limit the size of large exposures in relation to their capital.

This standard establishes minimum standards for margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives. Such requirements reduce systemic risk with respect to non-standardised derivatives by reducing contagion and spillover risks and promoting central clearing.

The Pillar 2 supervisory review process ensures that banks have adequate capital and liquidity to support all the risks in their business, especially with respect to risks not fully captured by the Pillar 1 process, and encourages good risk management.

This standard sets out disclosure requirements, which aim to encourage market discipline.

The Basel Core Principles provide a comprehensive standard for establishing a sound foundation for the regulation, supervision, governance and risk management of the banking sector.

The Basel Framework homepage lists all 14 standards together with a short description of their content. The "effective as of" date is the date by which the members of the BCBS have agreed to implement the standards. By default, this date is set to the launch date of the consolidated framework for standards that were already in force at the launch of the framework. For standards that have chapters that are due to change in the future, a "next version" date is shown.

Click on the name of any standard to get the list of chapters that it contains. By default, you will see the current versions of the standards that are in effect as of the day you are using the website. In cases where new chapter versions are due to come into effect in the future, the chapter can be accessed by clicking the "new future version" link shown at the bottom of the chapter description.

Video 9 April 2019
Navigating the Basel Framework
This tutorial explains the features of the Basel Committee's consolidated framework, bringing global standards for bank regulation and supervision together in one place.

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