Most of the global banking and insurance regulations have been initiated or inspired by the work of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and its so-called “Basel regulations”. Read this section to understand what the Basel Committee is, what it aims to achieve, and its impact on the regulations your clients and prospects have to comply with today.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) was established in 1974 in response to a period of major disruptions in the international currency and banking markets (1971 collapse of the Bretton Woods Accord, 1973 stock market crash, 1974 oil price shock). BCBS members are drawn from 27 countries which are represented by their central banks and financial regulators. The Committee aims to enhance understanding of key supervisory issues and improve the quality of banking supervision worldwide. It achieves this partly through its role as a forum for cooperation and information sharing for national supervisors, and partly by issuing guidelines and standards. The Committee does not have formal supranational authority and its standards do not have legal force. Rather, it is expected that national supervisors incorporate these standards into their regulations, with which regulated institutions then have to comply.
