Financial Policy Committee

Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 Published

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On January 13, 2015, the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 were published.

The Regulations amend the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014 to introduce a systemic risk buffer (SRB) that will apply to ring-fenced banks (RFBs) and certain large building societies. This measure implements Articles 133 and 134 of the Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD IV).

The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) will be responsible for setting out the framework for determining which institutions should hold the buffer and, if so, how large the buffer should be. It will need to publish this methodology by May 31, 2016. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will be responsible for applying the framework and will have ultimate discretion over which firms must hold the buffer and its size.

The Regulations were made on January 12, 2015 and come into force, unless otherwise stated, on May 31, 2016. The systemic risk buffer is applicable from January 1, 2019.  Regulations.

Prudential Regulation Authority Statement on Liquidity

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On August 28, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, confirmed that the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) Board will implement the June 2013 recommendation of the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) regarding the amount of liquidity held by banks and building societies.

Governor Carney said: “for major banks and building societies meeting the minimum 7% capital threshold, the Bank of England will reduce the level of required liquid asset holdings. The effect will be to lower total required holdings by £90 billion, once all eight major banks and building societies meet the capital threshold. That will help to underpin the supply of credit, since every pound currently held in liquid assets is a pound that could be lent to the real economy.”

The PRA will amend its current liquidity framework such that firms should hold highly liquid assets broadly equivalent to 80% of the ‘Liquidity Coverage Ratio’ (LCR) agreed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in January 2013.  The LCR requires internationally active banks to hold sufficient liquid assets to cover their expected net cash outflows under a 30-day liquidity stress scenario.  News Release.