Basel II and the single-instrument bank

Banks could take a cue from the construction industry if they want to lessen the burden of Basel II, argues Ron Dembo.

Banks around the world are struggling to prepare for Basel II. The new Accord affects almost every part of them, so it is a gigantic task for any organisation to get its hands around.

But that is precisely what banks are trying to do today – attempting to solve the whole problem at once. That is incredibly difficult to do, so what happens is different groups work on their particular aspects of the problem, and no-one can see the whole picture.

Meanwhile, they all hope that when the dust