BASSETERRE, St Kitts – The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) informed the public that it has implemented Phase I of its Basel II/III Implementation Roadmap.
Phase I aligns the minimum capital requirements more closely with licensed financial institutions’ (LFIs’) credit, operational, and market risks. It includes the issuance of prudential standards for capital measurement, as well as the Quarterly Statement of Capital, Income and Expenditure reporting form and the associated manual of instructions.
The ECCB continues its Basel II/III implementation with a focus on Phases II and III of the project. Phase II covers the supervisory review process, while Phase III looks at the disclosure requirements for LFIs.
Basel II/III are international standards developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), for assessing the capital adequacy of banks. Basel II seeks to ensure that banks maintain sufficient capital to cover their risks and absorb potential losses. Basel III was released in 2010 by the BCBS, in response to the financial crisis of 2007-09 to strengthen regulation, supervision, and risk management within the banking industry.
The implementation of the Basel II/III framework will ensure that the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union banking sector remains resilient and enhances the region’s reputation as a stable financial system.