Basel triggers new tussle on anti-Archegos rules

Critics argue new guidelines on counterparty credit risk are either unworkable, or don’t go far enough to tackle concentration and wrong-way risk

All the prime brokers who served highly leveraged family office Archegos Capital Management prior to its collapse in March 2021 complied with prudential rules around counterparty credit risk. And yet between them, the banks lost more than $10 billion. And for Credit Suisse, which accounted for around half the total losses, the debacle arguably marked the beginning of a slide into crisis, and its takeover by UBS two years later.

Little wonder the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is now