WASHINGTON – A small number of US regional banks may gain a cost advantage over their largest rivals in the credit card market as a result of the way the Basel II bank safety rules will be applied in the US.

MANILA – While the development of the prudential and regulatory framework for banks in the Philippines has been substantial over the last three years, “implementation has been hampered by ineffectual enforcement,” according to Fitch, the credit rating agency.

LONDON – Reputational risk is now the single biggest concern among risk managers, according to a new survey. It is placed top of a list of 13 potential risks, coming ahead of regulatory risk, IT network risk, credit risk, market risk and the risk of terrorism.

BASEL, Switzerland – The 2003 outbreak of the SARS illness taught Canadian financial firms to update their business continuity plans by incorporating scenarios involving significant risk to life and property irrespective of the cause, whether nature, accident or terrorism.

LONDON – National banking supervisors in Europe may allow “a certain degree of flexibility” in their roll-out plans for a common reporting framework, known as COREP, that banks and investment firms will use for reporting their solvency ratios.

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka “will move slowly, but steadily, towards full implementation of the basic (Basel II) approach, hopefully in 2008,” the country’s central bank governor said in December.

LONDON – Practical day-to-day supervision of cross-border banking groups will be the real test of the effectiveness of the convergence of supervisory practices in Europe, Danièle Nouy, new chairwoman of the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), said in January.

BRUSSELS – The European Commission has put forward proposals aimed at bringing down the existing legal barriers preventing the creation of a “Single Payments Area” in the EU. It is estimated that the creation of such an area could save the EU economy €50-100 billion ($60-120 billion) a year.

Insurers are worried that some of Europe’s supervisors don’t have the stomach for a full blown risk-based regulatory system By David Keefe

The planned second test of the effects of the Solvency II proposals on European Union insurers needs to better align activities in EU member states and cut the scope for interpretation of the requirements within different countries, according to Swiss reinsurance giant Swiss Re.