High-level principles for cross-border implementation of the New Basel Capital Accord

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has today published a report entitled High-level principles for the cross-border implementation of the New Accord. As the Committee moves towards the completion of Basel II, this interim publication highlights the work of the Accord Implementation Group (AIG) in developing a set of principles to facilitate closer, practical cooperation and information exchange among supervisors.

In this report, the Committee points out that the existing cross-border responsibilities of home and host country supervisors, as established in the Basel Concordat and Minimum Standards, will continue to apply when the New Basel Capital Accord is finalised.

The New Accord will call for enhanced levels of practical cooperation between supervisors. The report recommends that home supervisors, together with the relevant host supervisors, organise practical plans of cooperation prior to the implementation date, with a view to improving supervisory efficiency and reducing the implementation burden on banks. Communicating this plan to the affected banking groups is viewed as an important part of supervisors' cross-border implementation efforts.

The AIG is chaired by Nicholas Le Pan, Vice Chairman of the Basel Committee and Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada. Mr Le Pan said today "I believe that these high-level principles are an important step in implementation efforts. They emphasise the Committee members' commitment to work on developing practical implementation plans, especially for the cross-border supervision of complex international banking groups."

This publication has benefited from consultation with fellow supervisors and the industry.

Notes for editors

Basel Committee on Banking Supervision

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision was established by the central bank Governors of the Group of Ten countries in 1975. It consists of senior representatives from banking supervisory authorities and the central banks of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Currently, the Committee reports to the central bank Governors and heads of supervision of the G10 countries. Since 1 May 2003, it has been chaired by Jaime Caruana, Governor of the Bank of Spain. Nicholas Le Pan, Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada, serves in the newly established position of Vice Chairman of the Committee. The Committee usually meets at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, where its permanent Secretariat is located.

Accord Implementation Group

The Basel Committee set up the Accord Implementation Group comprising senior line supervisors under the chairmanship of Nicholas Le Pan. Its mandate is to serve as a means for supervisors to share information and approaches to implementation and, thereby, promote consistency. Sharing information was deliberately chosen by the Committee as the primary means of promoting consistency in the implementation of the New Accord. To this end, the AIG holds regular meetings, organises workshops among its members as necessary, and conducts outreach activities with fellow supervisors and the industry on core implementation topics.