Basel II securitisation paper delayed

The planned paper on asset securitisation in the context of the Basel II bank accord will not be published today as hoped, but is likely to be issued some time next week, global banking regulators said.

Regulators with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the architect of the complex Basel II accord and the body that effectively regulates international banking, had hoped to publish the paper at the same time as the key third Basel II quantitative impact study, or QIS 3, which is expected later today. But regulators said QIS 3 will contain the new risk weightings relating to asset securitisation that the delayed paper will discuss.

A paper reviewing progress of the risk-based Basel II accord that the Basel regulators want to apply to the large international banks of the leading economies by late 2006 will accompany QIS 3.

Basel II will determine how much of their assets major banks must set aside as a cushion to absorb unexpected losses from banking risks, including credit, market and operational risks.