Debate swirls over merits of CoCos and bail-in debt

Banks are anxious to find cost-effective capital structures that will be attractive to investors and acceptable to regulators.

With just over a month to go until the Basel III rules are set in stone in December, banks continue to consider innovative ways to meet the new capital requirements, but opinion remains divided about the merits of convertible debt and bail-in instruments.

When the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision convened in Seoul on Tuesday, it committed to finalise by the end of the year a proposal for ‘gone concern' contingent capital, which would allow capital instruments to be written off or converted