Basel II: Three Pillars (2024)

Definition

What is Basel II: Three Pillars?

While Basel I improved the way capital requirements were determined for banks worldwide, it had some major limitations. To improve the framework, Basel II was launched in 2004 and implemented in 2007, correcting a number of deficiencies in Basel I. The rules applied to “internationally active” banks and thus many small regional banks in the United States were not subject to the requirements but fell under Basel IA, similar to Basel I, instead. All European banks are regulated under Basel II. There are three pillars under Basel II: (1) minimum capital requirements, (2) supervisory review, and (3) market discipline.

Example of Basel II: Three Pillars:

Pillar 1: Minimum Capital Requirements

The key element of Basel II regarding capital requirements is to consider the credit ratings of counterparties. Capital charges for market risk remained unchanged from the 1996 Amendment. Basel II added capital charges for operational risk. Banks must hold total capital equal to 8% of RWA under Basel II, as under Basel I. Total capital under Basel II is calculated as:
total capital = 0.08 × (credit risk RWA + market risk RWA + operational risk RWA)

Pillar 2: Supervisory Review

Basel II is an international standard governing internationally active banks across the world. A primary goal of Basel II is to achieve overall consistency in the application of capital requirements. However, Pillar 2 allows regulators from different countries some discretion in how they apply the rules. This allows regulatory authorities to consider local conditions when implementing rules. Supervisors must also encourage banks to develop better risk management functions and must evaluate bank risks that are outside the scope of Pillar 1, working with banks to identify and manage all types of risk. Banks were also required to have internal capital adequacy and assessment processes (ICAAP) that take their risk profiles into account.

Pillar 3: Market Discipline

The goal of Pillar 3 is to increase transparency. Banks are required to disclose more information about the risks they take and the capital allocated to these risks. Information about other bank risks.

Why is Basel II: Three pillars important?

The BASEL norms have three aims: Make the banking sector strong enough to withstand economic and financial stress; reduce risk in the system and improve transparency in banks.

Basel II: Three Pillars (2024)

FAQs

Basel II: Three Pillars? ›

Basel II is the second of three Basel Accords. It is based on three main "pillars": minimum capital requirements, regulatory supervision, and market discipline.

What are the 3 pillars used in Basel 2 approach? ›

Basel II uses a "three pillars" concept – (1) minimum capital requirements (addressing risk), (2) supervisory review and (3) market discipline.

What are the Basel Pillar 1 2 and 3? ›

Basel regulation has evolved to comprise three pillars concerned with minimum capital requirements (Pillar 1), supervisory review (Pillar 2), and market discipline (Pillar 3). Today, the regulation applies to credit risk, market risk, operational risk and liquidity risk.

What is Pillar III of the Basel II accord? ›

Pillar 3: Market Discipline

Pillar 3 aims to ensure market discipline by making it mandatory to disclose relevant market information. This is done to make sure that the users of financial information receive the relevant information to make informed trading decisions and ensure market discipline.

What are the Basel Pillar 3 standards? ›

Pillar 3 promotes market discipline through prescribed public disclosures. As Basel 3 is implemented at the jurisdictional level, not all regulatory agencies require the same measures or levels of detail in their disclosure requirements.

What is Basel II in simple terms? ›

Basel II is an international business standard that requires financial institutions to maintain enough cash reserves to cover risks incurred by their operations. The Basel accords are a series of recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

What is the key difference between Basel II and Basel III? ›

The Basel III accord raised the minimum capital requirements for banks from 2% in Basel II to 4.5% of common equity, as a percentage of the bank's risk-weighted assets. There is also an additional 2.5% buffer capital requirement that brings the total minimum requirement to 7%.

What are the 3 main pillars or 3 main principles of Basel III? ›

The three pillars of Basel III are market discipline, Supervisory review Process, minimum capital requirement.

What is Pillar 2 Basel? ›

The Pillar 2 supervisory review process is an integral part of the Basel Framework. It is intended to ensure that banks not only have adequate capital to support all the risks in their business but also develop and use better risk management techniques in monitoring and managing these risks.

What is the difference between Basel I and Basel II? ›

How Is Basel I Different From Basel II and Basel III? Basel I introduced guidelines for how much capital banks must keep in reserve based on the risk level of their assets. Basel II refined those guidelines and added new requirements.

What is Solvency II Pillar 3? ›

Pillar II sets the qualitative requirements, including governance and risk management of the undertakings and the Own Risk and solvency Assessment (ORSA). Pillar III sets the supervisory reporting and public disclosure.

What are the three main Basel Accords? ›

The Basel Accords are a series of three sequential banking regulation agreements (Basel I, II, and III) set by the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision (BCBS). The Committee provides recommendations on banking and financial regulations, specifically, concerning capital risk, market risk, and operational risk.

What does Basel III focus on? ›

Basel III is an internationally agreed set of measures developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in response to the financial crisis of 2007-09. The measures aim to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of banks.

What are the three components of Pillar I of Basel II? ›

It is based on three main "pillars": minimum capital requirements, regulatory supervision, and market discipline. Minimum capital requirements play the most important role in Basel II and obligate banks to maintain certain ratios of capital to their risk-weighted assets.

What is Basel III for dummies? ›

Basel III is an international regulatory accord designed to improve the regulation, supervision, and risk management of the banking sector. Basel III is part of an evolving framework that adapts to changes in national economies and the financial landscape.

Who does Pillar 3 apply to? ›

The Pillar 3 framework is a set of public disclosure requirements that seek to provide market participants with sufficient information to assess a bank's risk profile and financial health. The Pillar 3 requirements apply to institutions and class 1 investment firms (“Systemic and bank-like” investment firms).

What is the Pillar 2 of Basel framework? ›

The Pillar 2 supervisory review process is an integral part of the Basel Framework. It is intended to ensure that banks not only have adequate capital to support all the risks in their business but also develop and use better risk management techniques in monitoring and managing these risks.

What is Tier 3 capital Basel 2? ›

Defined by the Basel II Accords, to qualify as tier 3 capital, assets must have been limited to 2.5x a bank's tier 1 capital, have been unsecured, subordinated, and have an original maturity of no less than two years.

Which are the three Basel norms? ›

capital, leverage, funding and liquidity.
  • Capital: The capital adequacy ratio is to be maintained at 12.9%. ...
  • Leverage: The leverage rate has to be at least 3 %. ...
  • Funding and Liquidity: Basel-III created two liquidity ratios: LCR and NSFR.
Aug 12, 2020

What is the standardized approach in Basel II? ›

Basel II requires all banking institutions to set aside capital for operational risk. Standardized approach falls between basic indicator approach and advanced measurement approach in terms of degree of complexity.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Sen. Emmett Berge

Last Updated:

Views: 5345

Rating: 5 / 5 (60 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Sen. Emmett Berge

Birthday: 1993-06-17

Address: 787 Elvis Divide, Port Brice, OH 24507-6802

Phone: +9779049645255

Job: Senior Healthcare Specialist

Hobby: Cycling, Model building, Kitesurfing, Origami, Lapidary, Dance, Basketball

Introduction: My name is Sen. Emmett Berge, I am a funny, vast, charming, courageous, enthusiastic, jolly, famous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.