Basel-III is a reinforcement of Basel-II: RBI official

KOLKATA: Basel-III norms -- which will come into effect from March 31, 2019 -- was basically a reinforcement of the existing Basel-II, according to an RBI official.

"Basel-II norms will stay and not be discarded. It is a reinforcement of the existing Basel-II accords," R N Kar, regional director (east) of RBI said at a seminar here.

Kar said that the global financial crisis of 2008 had exposed the failures of Basel-II norms after which the international community started looking for more stringent standards.

The Basel-II norms, which took care of the capital, market and operational risks, had been made more sophisticated by integrating the need for greater liquidity and decreasing leverage.

The crisis had also taught that the credit rating agencies were not providers of gospel truths as believed to be, he said.

The Basel-III norms would also have provisions for counter-cyclical buffers.