Risk USA: Sifi rules would be a failure if banks don't downsize

Some banks want to be on the list of global Sifis – exactly the opposite to what the rules are intended to achieve, says former chairman of the Basel Committee standards implementation group

Industry experts at the Risk USA conference clashed over the best way to deal with systemically important financial institutions (Sifis), with one speaker arguing that the regulatory response will have failed if banks do not become less complex.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published a proposed assessment methodology for global systemically important banks in July, which included details of an additional capital surcharge for large firms. Under this approach, those banks deemed to