UK banks press BOE to soften stricter capital rules
BANK of England plans that would raise capital requirements for banks in Britain would be “very bad” for the economy, the finance director of NatWest said on Tuesday (Sep 19), as lenders globally push back against regulators setting tougher rules.
NatWest chief financial officer Katie Murray told an investor event that the UK’s blueprint for rolling out stricter international capital standards, dubbed the ‘Basel Endgame’ were too harsh.
The planned rule changes have faced growing bank opposition. Two executives at rival lenders, who declined to be named, also told Reuters they were pressing for the reforms to be softened, with one adding they undermined Britain’s competitiveness.
“We’ve been very strong in our concerns...particularly around SME lending, and also infrastructure and green lending, we do think they’ll be very bad for PLC UK,” NatWest’s Murray told a Bank of America conference in London.
NatWest had outlined its views to both the BOE’s Prudential Regulation Authority and the UK finance ministry, Murray said.
The comments came as the BOE held an industry event on Tuesday to discuss ways to meet its new objective of boosting the UK’s international competitiveness and growth, subject to aligning with global regulatory standards.
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The BOE did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The BOE is consulting on the latest round of international standards agreed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, which set reserves banks must keep as a cushion against losses.
In the United States, the backlash against the latest rules has been more strident. US bank groups have accused regulators of violating federal laws, while JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon last week said the proposals were “hugely disappointing”.
The BOE has said that banks face an increase in capital requirements by about 6 per cent by the end of the decade from applying remaining rules from the Basel III global norms, due to take effect in January 2025. REUTERS
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