GHOS Agree on Measures for Global Systemically Important Banks
At its 25 June 2011 meeting, the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), the oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), agreed on a consultative document setting out measures for global systemically important banks (G-SIBs). These measures include the methodology for assessing systemic importance, the additional required capital and the arrangements by which they will be phased in. These measures will strengthen the resilience of G-SIBs and create strong incentives for them to reduce their systemic importance over time.
The GHOS is submitting this consultative document to the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which is co-ordinating the overall set of measures to reduce the moral hazard posed by global systemically important financial institutions. This package of measures will be issued for consultation around the end of July 2011.
The assessment methodology for G-SIBs is based on an indicator-based approach and comprises five broad categories: size, interconnectedness, lack of substitutability, global (cross-jurisdictional) activity and complexity.
The additional loss absorbency requirements are to be met with a progressive Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital requirement ranging from 1% to 2.5%, depending on a bank’s systemic importance. To provide a disincentive for banks facing the highest charge to increase materially their global systemic importance in the future, an additional 1% surcharge would be applied in such circumstances.
The higher loss absorbency requirements will be introduced in parallel with the Basel III capital conservation and countercyclical buffers, i.e. between 1 January 2016 and year-end 2018 becoming fully effective on 1 January 2019.
The GHOS and BCBS will continue to review contingent capital, and support the use of contingent capital to meet higher national loss absorbency requirements than the global minimum, as high-trigger contingent capital could help absorb losses on a going concern basis.
Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank (ECB) and chairman of the GHOS, said: “The agreements reached today will help address the negative externalities and moral hazard posed by global systemically important banks.”