Basel across boundaries

With branches spanning Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Standard Chartered faces a number of challenges in implementing the new Basel Accord. Yet Richard Meddings, the bank's group risk director, has his eye firmly fixed on the most advanced approaches.

When the Switzerland-based Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued its second consultative paper on Basel II in January 2001, it was intended that banks would actually begin operating under the new framework about now. But more than two years after the Accord was supposed to have been finalised, banks are still waiting to see the definitive document. The Basel Committee now reckons the final version of Basel II will be published in mid-2004 – and this time, it looks like it means it.

I