Basel Committee-

 Basel III remains unchanged with three mutually reinforcing pillars-

Pillar 1 : Minimum Regulatory Capital Requirements based on Risk Weighted Assets (RWAs) : Maintaining capital calculated through credit, market and operational risk areas.

Pillar 2 :  Supervisory Review Process : Regulating tools and frameworks for dealing with peripheral risks that banks face.

Pillar 3: Market Discipline :   Increasing the disclosures that banks must provide to increase the transparency of banks

What are the Major Features of Basel III -

(a) Better Capital Quality :   One of the key elements of Basel 3 is the introduction of  much stricter definition of capital.  Better quality capital means the higher loss-absorbing capacity.   This in turn  will mean that banks will be stronger, allowing them to better withstand periods of stress.

(b) Capital Conservation Buffer:    Another key feature of Basel iii is that now banks will be required to hold a capital conservation buffer of 2.5%.  The aim of  asking to build conservation buffer is to ensure that banks maintain a cushion of capital that can be used to absorb losses during periods of financial and economic stress.

(c) Countercyclical Buffer:   This is also one of the key elements of Basel III.   The countercyclical buffer has been introducted with the objective to increase capital requirements in good times and decrease the same  in bad times.  The buffer will slow banking activity when it overheats and will encourage lending when times are tough i.e. in bad times.  The buffer will range from 0% to 2.5%, consisting of common equity or other fully loss-absorbing capital.

 (d) Minimum Common Equity and Tier 1 Capital Requirements :   The minimum requirement for common equity, the highest form of loss-absorbing capital, has been raised under Basel III from  2% to 4.5% of total risk-weighted assets.  The overall Tier 1 capital requirement, consisting of not only common equity but also other qualifying financial instruments, will also increase from the current minimum of 4% to 6%.   Although the minimum total capital requirement will remain at the current 8% level, yet the required total capital will increase to 10.5% when combined with the conservation buffer.

(e) Leverage Ratio:     A review of the financial crisis of 2008 has indicted  that the value of many assets fell quicker than assumed from historical experience.   Thus, now Basel III rules include a leverage ratio to serve as a safety net.  A leverage ratio is the relative amount of capital to total assets (not risk-weighted).   This aims to put a cap on swelling of leverage in the banking sector on a global basis.   3%  leverage ratio of Tier 1 will be tested before a mandatory leverage ratio is introduced in January 2018.

 (f) Liquidity Ratios:  Under Basel III, a framework for liquidity risk management will be created. A new Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) are to be introduced in 2015 and 2018, respectively.

 (g) Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFI) : As part of the macro-prudential framework, systemically important banks will be expected to have loss-absorbing capability beyond the Basel III requirements. Options for implementation include capital surcharges, contingent capital and bail-in-debt.

 Comparison of Capital Requirements under Basel II and Basel III

Requirements	Under Basel II	Under Basel III
Minimum Ratio of Total Capital To RWAs	8%	10.50%
Minimum Ratio of Common Equity to RWAs	2%	4.50% to 7.00%
Tier I capital to RWAs	4%	6.00%
Core Tier I capital to RWAs	2%	5.00%
Capital Conservation Buffers to RWAs	None	2.50%
Leverage Ratio	None	3.00%
Countercyclical Buffer	None	0% to 2.50%
Minimum Liquidity Coverage Ratio	None	TBD (2015)
Minimum Net Stable Funding Ratio	None	TBD (2018)
Systemically important Financial Institutions Charge	None	TBD (2011)