Federal Council wants Basel III standards to come into force at the beginning of 2025
Published: Wednesday, Jun 26th 2024, 11:40
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The Basel III standards for banks are to come into full force in Switzerland as planned on January 1, 2025. Recently, bank representatives had brought a postponement of certain areas into play.
The Federal Council announced on Wednesday that the amendment to the Capital Adequacy Ordinance (CAO) would thus be transposed into Swiss law at the beginning of 2025 as planned. It set the timetable in November 2023. Despite delays in some countries, the Federal Council intends to stick to the schedule, it added.
In the EU, the specific capital requirements relating to the trading book, the so-called "Fundamental Review of the Trading Book" (FRTB), are to be postponed by one year, as was announced last week. The reason given was foreseeable delays in implementation in the USA, which would put EU institutions at a disadvantage.
Same rules of the game
Last week, representatives of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) in Switzerland tended to speak out in favor of a shift in this area. Last but not least, it is about having the same rules of the game as other banking centers in international competition, an SBA expert told AWP.
According to industry representatives, the new capital rules regarding trading activities are likely to affect internationally active banks in particular - primarily the major bank UBS. The stricter capital regulations in this area could also play a significant role for other institutions with larger trading activities, including private banks.
Further information by the end of July
At the same time, the Federal Council instructed the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) to "inform it of the status of the international implementation of the standard by the end of July 2024."
Basel III is a reform package from the international Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). It is intended in particular to strengthen the solvency and liquidity of banks. The new rules include revised minimum standards for capital adequacy.
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