Asian banks win important Basel III victory but have little to fear

The amendments of Basel III bank capital and liquidity proposals unveiled in July suggest banks have scored an important victory in their efforts to tone down some of the most onerous requirements being proposed by the Basel Committee. But even without the proposed dilutions, Asian banks should have little to fear from the new rules. Joti Mangat reports

Asian banks are going to approach Basel III from a position of strength relative to their Western counterparts. Most are relatively well capitalised, have strong balance sheets and are operating in economies that are doing well,” says Ambreesh Srivastava, senior director and head of financial institutions ratings for south and southeast Asia at Fitch Ratings in Singapore.

When the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) convened this July to consider market reactions to last year’s