PARIS (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau on Thursday raised concerns about the implementation of the latest international 'Basel III' bank capital rules, saying they should be written into law everywhere, including the United States.
Villeroy said the compound of rules for banks on capital requirements, stress-testing and market liquidity risks agreed upon in the Basel agreement were crucial to protect countries’ economies against the devastating effects of a financial crisis such as the one that struck the world around a decade ago.
"We should resist the temptation of short memory and we should resist the temptation to forget," Villeroy said at an event held in Paris by the European Banking Authority, which relocated to the French capital from London earlier this week.
The implementation of the Basel III rules has been delayed several times in several countries, and banks and governments have pushed for more delays as these intended regulations will result in additional costs for banks.