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21 November 2008
GENEVA – The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said Thursday it would work to strengthen capital buffers and help contain leverage in the banking system in order to address regulatory weaknesses exposed by the financial crisis.
"Our goal is to help ensure that the banking sector serves its traditional role as a shock absorber to the financial system," Nout Wellink, the president of the Netherlands Bank and head of the committee, said in a statement.
The strategy includes enhancing the quality of Tier 1 capital, a primary measure of a bank’s health, strengthening risk management and governance practices at banks and putting shock absorbers in place to be used in times of crisis.
Concrete plans would only be ready in early 2009, the committee said.
The Swiss-based Basel Committee, part of the Bank for International Settlements, coordinates banking supervision among central banks.
[dpa / Expatica]