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Understanding Banking System Basel Norms and Banking

Stability
By INSIGHTS

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Introduction
Banking system is the backbone of any nations economy. For an economy to remain healthy and going, it is
important that the banking system grows fast and yet be stable.
This catches the biggest dilemma of policymakers. How to achieve both the objectives simultaneously?
Over a period of time, several indicators have been developed which gauge the depth and stability of the banking
system. Examples can be Non-performing assets, Capital adequacy ratio (CAR) etc.
Similarly, mechanisms to ensure their stability have also been developed. Some of the examples can be CRR;
SLR; Basel conventions; regular directions of the RBI; Financial Stability and Development Council etc.
In this section, we will talk about some of these indicators and mechanisms. They have also been in news for
quite some time Basel III norms and Non-Performing assets (NPAs).
We will try to first clarify the related concepts; then understand the seriousness of the issue; gauge their impact on
the Indian economy and then offer some possible solutions as well as look into some of the committees reports
which have examined the matter.
In this article (Part-1 of a two part series), we will only deal with Basel norms. NPAs will be dealt with
comprehensively in the next article.

About Basel norms

Basel is a city in Switzerland which is also the headquarters of Bureau of International Settlement (BIS). BIS
fosters co-operation among central banks with a common goal of financial stability and common standards of
banking regulations. Currently there are 27 member nations in the committee.
Basel guidelines refer to broad supervisory standards formulated by this group of central banks- called the Basel
Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). The set of agreement by the BCBS, which mainly focuses on risks to
banks and the financial system are called Basel accord.

The purpose of the accord is to ensure that financial institutions have enough capital on account to meet
obligations and absorb unexpected losses. India has accepted Basel accords for the banking system.
So, if the Basel norms are banking standards, then who has the authority to make them? Are they mandatory for
every country?
As said earlier, the Basel Committee makes these norms. The Committees decisions have no legal force. Rather,
the Committee formulates supervisory standards and guidelines and recommends statements of best practice in
the expectation that individual national authorities will implement them. In this way, the Committee encourages
convergence towards common standards and monitors their implementation, but without attempting detailed
harmonisation of member countries supervisory approaches.
So, India can either accept them or reject them depending on the kind of financial system it wants. So far, we have
implemented or wished to implement all Basel norms.

Basel I
In 1988, BCBS introduced capital measurement system called Basel capital accord, also called as Basel 1. It
focused almost entirely on credit risk. It defined capital and structure of risk weights for banks. Naturally if the
capital with the banks is adequate to cover the risks ( e.g. a power plant) they have invested in, then the bank is
safe.
The minimum capital requirement was fixed at 8% of risk weighted assets (RWA). RWA means assets with
different risk profiles. For example, an asset backed by collateral would carry lesser risks as compared to
personal loans, which have no collateral. India adopted Basel 1 guidelines in 1999. The Basel norms are set up
by the Basel committee on Banking supervision.
It is important to understand that the Basel accords have been the result of cooperation by the countries over the
years.

But why cooperate between member countries when banks operate within national
boundaries?
It is because these banks lend not only to its country men but also other nations. Also, private investors and
sovereign nations take loans from banks across other nations. Further, the financial system of the world is so
interconnected that one incident of a banking collapse has its repercussions all over the world. There can be no
better example that the 2008 Global recession.
Therefore, global cooperation on banking matters is a absolute necessity in todays world. And, not only
cooperation but also adoption of some uniform standards is also important.

Again, Why uniform standards?

Bankers and investors invest over the world preferably in markets where they get best returns. The markets will
give returns only when the economy is stable. And, economy will be stable only when the banking system is
stable. Hence, it is important for investors and agencies to measure the stability of the banking system. If all the
nations adopt different standards, then calculating stability figures will be a big headache for investors.
Also, suppose some nations run banks on better standards i.e. better risk management, better returns, lower
exposure to volatile markets etc., then they have a better chance of getting foreign investment.
But, if all nations adopt uniform standards, then at least the investors can be attracted by only the strength of the
economy.
Hence, it is important to have uniform standards especially when it comes to the banking system which is so
complex and vast.

The Basel norms try to achieve exactly the same. Till date three different Basel accords ( or norms) have come
each with a better safeguard than the next one.

Basel II
In 2004, Basel II guidelines were published by BCBS, which were considered to be the refined and
reformed versions of Basel I accord. The guidelines were based on three parameters.

1. Banks should maintain a minimum capital adequacy requirement of 8% of risk assets,

In India, such a practice is equivalent to maintaining a Capital Adequacy ratio (CAR).
2. Banks were needed to develop and use better risk management techniques in monitoring and managing all the
three types of risks that is credit and increased disclosure requirements.
Increased disclosure requirements raise the confidence of investors and depositors in the bank. The more
transparent a bank is, the more stable it is deemed to be.
3. Banks need to mandatorily disclose their risk exposure, etc to the central bank.
This is important so that the central bank (RBI in India) is aware of the risks that the banking system is going
through.
There is a practice in India to publish bi-annual Financial Stability reports by the RBI. The latest report published
recently is of June 2014.
Basel II norms in India and overseas are yet to be fully implemented.
You will find some technical words like risk exposure etc. in the text. We do not need to go into details. We only
need to know their general meaning.

Basel III
In 2010, Basel III guidelines were released. These guidelines were introduced in response to the financial crisis of
2008.
A need was felt to further strengthen the system as banks in the developed economies were under-capitalized,
over-leveraged and had a greater reliance on short-term funding. Too much short-term funding makes the banks
prone to risks. Banks generally rely on short-term funding because it is profitable.
Also the quantity and quality of capital under Basel II were deemed insufficient to contain any further risk. This was
because the banking system was growing. The world economy was growing too. Hence, what is sufficient earlier
was not sufficient now.
Basel III norms aim at making most banking activities such as their trading book activities more capital-intensive.
The guidelines aim to promote a more resilient banking system by focusing on four vital banking parameters viz.
capital, leverage, funding and liquidity.
Again we need not go in technicalities, just the broad picture.
This is how it was broadly done.

Capital
The capital requirement (as weighed for risky assets) for Banks was more than doubled. ( e.g. 4.5% from 2% in

Basel-II accord for common equity)

Leverage
Leverage basically means buying assets with borrowed money to multiply the gain. The underlying belief is that
the asset will return the investor more than the interest he has to pay on the loan.
Obviously doing so is risky business. Thus the Basel III puts a limit on the banks for doing this. The numbers are
not important here. Getting the concept is important.

Funding and liquidity

Banks can be subjected to a lot of risk if all depositors come and ask all their money at the same time. This is a
hypothetical situation but it has happened in real with Lehman Brothers the bank whose collapse gave us the
2008 recession.
So, Basel III puts a requirement for the banks to maintain some liquid assets all the time. Liquid assets are those
which can be easily converted to cash.
In India, this practice can be correlated with that of maintaining CRR and SLR.

Implementation of Basel III norms in India

The RBI has postponed the implementation of these norms to 2019.
It is important to note that it is not easy to implement these norms as it requires several changes in the present
banking system.
There are several challenges in the successful implementation of Basel III norms.
1. Higher capital requirement for banks The private banks have the autonomy to raise capital from the
markets. But the Public sector banks have to rely on the government mostly. The government has recently
decided to infuse 12000 Cr. rupees in the PSBs. In the coming years even more will be required.
2. More technology deployment Implementing the norms would require much more sophisticated technology
and management styles that the Indian banks are presently using. Upgrading both will impose huge cost on the
banks and hurt their profitability in the coming years.
3.Liquidity crunch Banks would need to invest more on liquid assets. These assets do not give handsome
returns usually which would reduce the banks operating profit margin. Further higher deployment of more funds in
liquid assets may crowd out good private sector investments and also affect economic growth.

The way ahead for the banks

To address these issues and to protect their profitability margins, banks need to look beyond regulatory
compliance and take proactive actions.
In this regard the following strategies need to be adopted:
1. Change in Business Mix They will need to lend more to profitable yet safe sectors. For e.g. corporate loans.
But even corporate loans in India have been under a lot of stress. Banks are facing increasing NPAs (we will talk
about it in the next article). Still they are safer and more profitable than retail loans. Priority Sector lending (PSL)
however limits their options.
2. Low-Cost Funding One of the most important factors to meet the new regulations is to have a stable low-

cost deposit base. For this, banks need to focus more on having business correspondents/facilitators to reach
customers as adding branches will increase costs and have an impact on the profit margin.
The RBI is thinking of introducing UID based mobile wallets to increase the reach of the financial system. Perhaps
the banks can tie up with wallet operators based on some innovative business model. There are many
opportunities.
3. Improvement in systems and procedures Refining the systems and procedures may help banks
economise their risk-weighted assets, which will help reduce capital requirements to some extent. It is possible
that they would impose cost in the short-run, but they would yield great returns in the future.

Conclusion
It is clear that the banking system in the coming times will have to go through a lot of rough weather. Increasing
operational complexities, global interconnectedness and high economic growth worldwide will present several
challenges for the banks. While strategies like Basel III will of course address these challenges, what is even
more important is their proper implementation. More than this, the banks will need to have a wider outlook. They
must anticipate changes in the Indian economic system and react accordingly. Indian banking regulations are one
of the most stringent and consequently one of the safest in the world. Let us evolve each time better and stronger.

Model questions
Prelims
1. Consider the following statements:
1. Basel norms are mandatory for every member nation.
2. India has not implemented Basel III norms till date.
Which of these is/are correct?
a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both
d) None

Solution: b)

2. Consider the following statements key focus areas in the banking system:
1. Merger of banks
2. Regular disclosure of information to the Central bank
3. Investment in risky assets
Which of these areas are dealt with by the Basel III norms?

a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 3
c) 1 and 3
d) All of the above

Solution: b)

Mains
1. The Indian banking system has been exposed to a lot of vulnerabilities in past few years due to the global
economic climate. Critically examine some of the important mechanisms available to address these
vulnerabilities in India. (300 words)
2. The Basel III norms present a much safer regulation of the banking system than Basel II, yet it has not been
implemented in India. Examine the key issues and challenges in their implementation and offer some solutions to
address the same. (300 words)
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