Basel Capital Standards
As a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, I have been a key player on the Basel Accords, which set new international risk-based capital and liquidity standards for all internationally active banks and for all domestic institutions.
The Basel III Accord adopted in September 2011, ensures that financial institutions have sufficient capital to meet obligations and absorb the impact of another credit crisis. As our country’s financial standing becomes increasingly interconnected with international markets, it is important to form uniform banking standards across the board. Basel III takes a big step in accomplishing this.
Through Subcommittee hearings, correspondence, and informal meetings with regulators I have worked to ensure that U.S. institutions are not put at a disadvantage vis-a–vis their international competitors by these new standards, and that one sector of the U.S. financial services industry is not unfairly disadvantaged by the new standards.
I joined with then Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chair Spencer Bachus, who introduced the United States Financial Policy Committee For Fair Capital Standards Act in the 108th and 109th Congresses. This legislation required the various U.S. regulators to work closely together in the negotiations so that no sector would be disfavored.
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