Shareholder value and increasing competition are headaches for Singapore\'s capital-rich banks. But they show Asia the way over new Basel accord

Banks can save money if they watch for the links between Basel II and the new international accounting rules, says Stephen Kemp

Traffic police tolerate a certain amount of excessive speeding, otherwise most car drivers and police would spend half their lives in court. Tim Leech looks at how much leeway companies might be allowed under Sarbanes-Oxley.

WASHINGTON, August 4 - The deadline for industry comment on US plans to implement the controversial Basel II capital rules for bank safety will be November 3, US banking supervisors said in a joint statement.

LONDON, August 7 -UK banks want a flexible approach to the practical problem facing some banks wanting to adopt advanced methods of assessing credit risk under the complex Basel II capital rules for bank safety, British Bankers\' Association (BBA) officials said today.

WASHINGTON August 15th - 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, Switzerland, August 20 - Fears of excessive capital charges, worries about complexity and cost and how supervisory review will work, plus highly technical arguments about securitisation, credit derivatives and other complex issues.

BASEL, Switzerland, August 28 - Major banks issue subordinated debt with sufficient frequency and in sufficient amounts to create the conditions for direct market discipline - a key concept behind the Basel II update of capital rules for bank safety.

LONDON, August 29 - UK regulators plan new risk-focused rules to determine how much capital life insurance companies should hold to ensure they can meet their liabilities to policyholders.

BRUSSELS, July 1 - The European Commission confirmed today it proposes that certain types of lower risk investment firm can keep to current rules for calculating protective capital rather than adopting the Basel II capital rules.