ALM Europe: ‘Economic case’ for Basel III delay, says SG economist

Sequencing of the reforms is wrong, Société Générale's chief European economist tells conference

There is an economic case for Basel III to be postponed, according to James Nixon, chief European economist at Société Générale (SG), who argued at the ALM Europe conference in London this morning that policy-makers and regulators are trying to do too many things at once. The result, he warned, would be a delayed recovery.

"There are question marks about the sequencing. You can't do all these things at once – regulate the banks, reduce their leverage and increase their capital because that kills