Policy development and implementation review

Updated 14 April 2018

Policy development and implementation review

The Basel Committee's approach to policy development relies on the coordinated work of its various working groups and task forces, a wide and open consultation process, and cooperation with international institutions. The Committee also strives to review the implementation of its standards in order to contribute to a level playing field among internationally active banks.

Policy development

The Committee's work is largely organised around groups, working groups and task forces. Any member organisation can join these groups to participate in the policy development process.

  • Groups report directly to the Committee and are composed of senior staff from the Committee's member organisations.
  • These groups are supported by working groups, comprising technical experts from member central banks and supervisory agencies.
  • Task forces provide specific and expert assistance within a determined time frame where needed.
  • Quantitative impact studies help calibrate standards and provide a tool for monitoring their impact.

The Committee's Secretariat, hosted and supported by the BIS, contributes to the work of the Committee, the Chair and the groups around which the Committee organises its work. It is staffed mainly by professional supervisors on temporary secondment from member institutions. The Secretariat also participates in seminars organised by the FSI and regional supervisory groups or other member organisations.

As part of the policy development process, the Committee consults widely on its activities. For example, it discusses its policy proposals with non-member authorities through the Basel Consultative Group. It also seeks input from other relevant stakeholders via written comments and by meeting with interested parties. Public comments on policy proposals are posted on the Committee's website.

The ultimate decision-making body is the Committee, where decisions are taken by consensus. The Committee is accountable to the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS) and seeks its endorsement for major decisions. Since the Committee does not possess any formal supranational authority, its decisions do not have legal force. The Committee, however, expects its members to implement standards in a full, timely and consistent manner.


Policy dissemination

Policy decisions by the Basel Committee are published on its website mainly in the form of:

    • Standards, which establish minimum requirements for member jurisdictions
    • Guidelines, which elaborate standards in areas important for the prudential regulation and supervision of banks
    • Sound practices, which describe observed practices with a view to promoting common understanding and improving supervisory or banking practices

        Implementation review

        The Committee expects full implementation of its standards by its member jurisdictions and their internationally active banks. It therefore aims to monitor the implementation of these standards locally to ensure their timely, consistent and effective implementation, and to contribute to a level playing field among internationally active banks.

        To facilitate this process, the Committee has adopted a comprehensive Regulatory Consistency Assessment Programme (RCAP) that complements the Committee's work on developing prudential standards. The RCAP consists of two distinct but interlinked modules covering the Basel capital, liquidity and leverage standards, and requirements relating to systemically important banks (SIBs):

        • Monitoring adoption of the Basel standards
        • Consistency assessments on a jurisdictional and a thematic basis

        The RCAP includes a methodology describing the complete assessment programme and a questionnaire that member jurisdictions need to complete ahead of the assessment and update regularly. Both the methodology and the questionnaire help regulators, supervisors and other financial stability authorities to evaluate progress with implementation of the Basel III framework in their jurisdiction and identify areas for improvement.


        Cooperation and support

        The Committee also cooperates with other standard-setting bodies and international financial institutions to achieve effective supervision and appropriate information-sharing across industries and jurisdictions.