For a growing number of banks, synthetics are the real deal

More lenders want to use SRTs to offload credit risk, but old hands say they have a long road ahead

Basel III is coming. The new standards handed down by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision are already being translated into law in the European Union and the UK. And although the timeline is more uncertain in the US, banks there are still facing a tougher prudential regime.

At the heart of Basel III are modifications that are likely to raise capital requirements and put a floor under the use of internal models. As a result, banks are looking to further optimise their balance sheets. Since