Are UK’s countercyclical capital buffers high?

The Bank of England stress test results are out. A comprehensive report covering this exercise can be found here.  The report surprised me a bit, because its repeatedly mentions the countercyclical capital buffer requirement. The BOE decided to keep at 1 percent. Hardly newsworthy, that percentage was announced a year ago. Still, the report mentions… Read More Are UK’s countercyclical capital buffers high?

Has the reserve bank become too philosophical about bank capital?

“You guys are little bit philosophical: the Netherlands and France are the only two countries in Europe that haven’t taken a position on capital requirements.” That was Emil from Nomura, who, in early 2012, queried me about the Dutch position on minimal capital requirements. The Swedish bank authorities had just announced that capital ratios should be… Read More Has the reserve bank become too philosophical about bank capital?