Looking Ahead
What's Up with Basel? In addition to being the second largest city in Switzerland, Basel is identified with the ongoing effort to implement a global regulatory framework of capital requirements and risk measures for financial institutions. Post-crisis financial regulatory reform has been elaborate and extended, and Basel III was promulgated by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to address Tier 1 Capital, Liquidity, Risk Coverage and Leverage requirements. What does this have to do with economic development? Well, in addition to the intended consequences of changing bank operations, these new rules may increase pricing on certain types of credit, may reduce access to certain types of credit, may increase the cost of hedging programs, and may require more rigid covenant compliance standards from lenders. In short, funding resources may become increasingly difficult to access for borrowers, with corresponding impact on new capital investment and related employment opportunities. Stay tuned, as we monitor the implementation of these proposals over the coming months and years!
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