LONDON, September 10 - Bankers\' immediate reactions were mixed to reports that the controversial Basel II upgrade of international capital rules for bank safety is to be delayed yet again by up to a year.

BRUSSELS, September 10 - Implementation of the Basel II upgrade of international capital rules for bank safety may be delayed by as much as a year as some commercial banks continue to have concerns, European Central Bank president Wim Duisenberg said today.

Definition of capital to be challenged at key meeting. Banks want expected losses to be dropped from the accord. By Melvyn Westlake

BRUSSELS - Belgium\'s \"intermediate model\" of financial supervision could be a pattern for any future arrangements at a European level, National Bank of Belgium governor Guy Quaden said in late July.

WASHINGTON - Low risk banks in the US are unlikely to benefit under the New Basel Capital Accord, and the country\'s high-risk banks might not be penalised.

BASEL - New capital rules for banks worldwide should smooth economic swings and strengthen the financial system, making it easier for central bankers to set interest rates, the head of the Basel Committee said as Global Risk Regulator went to press.

New York - Goldman Sachs regards as \"water under the bridge\" the mistake by Basel Committee staff of publishing to the world the US investment bank\'s confidential comments on the third consultative paper (CP 3) on the Basel II capital accord.

BASEL - The new Basel accord on bank safety - Basel II - won\'t change the legal responsibilities of national supervisors for the regulation of their domestic banks. Nor will it alter the arrangements for consolidated supervision already in place, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said in August.

BASEL, Switzerland - Global banking regulators stress that banks must hold capital to match the level of interest rate risk they undertake and provide public information on their interest risk levels and management.

Reform-minded central bank bides its time over Basel II, while banks get ready to comply By Melvyn Westlake