Asia banks may face new capital adequacy rules

Hong Kong

ASIAN banks are bracing for the impact of new capital adequacy rules, even if the region's regulators choose not to follow global proposals on total loss-absorbing capacity, or TLAC. Lenders in Asia have been largely exempt from the debate raging in Europe and the US over TLAC capital buffers, which aim to prevent taxpayer-funded bailouts of banks deemed too big to fail.

Regulators in the region have yet to announce formal TLAC instructions, but many bankers say they expect Asia to adopt them in some form in the…