Basel II spending rises

NEW YORK -- Spending on the implementation of Basel II's op risk framework at banks is rising, and will continue to rise substantially, according to a new survey conducted by sister publication Risk magazine and consultants Ernst & Young. Many firms are also well on their way to implementing the programme, despite the unfinished nature of the legislation and rulemaking surrounding the discipline.

The survey found that the expected costs of implementing op risk across firms of all sizes has risen to $19.8 million, from $15.6 million. Larger firms, and firms adopting the more sophisticated approaches to op risk have, not surprisingly, higher spending estimates. But some firms are planning to spend significantly less than average -- some 20% of the largest firms responding plan to spend less than $10 million on implementing op risk. And among firms with less than $50 billion in assets, more