The European Council and the European Parliament reached agreement on a proposal for new bank capital standards, implementing the Basel 3 agreement. The new rules will be voted on by the European Parliament on 15 April 2013 and are expected to be adopted without any material changes. The rules, known as the "CRD 4 package" provide for:

  • additional capital requirements
  • liquidity requirements
  • capital conservation buffers
  • systemic risk buffers
  • additional requirements for variable remuneration policies
  • governance and transparency requirements.

The CRD 4 package is expected to directly apply to banks and investment firms as of 1 January 2014.

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