PRA Consults on Implementation of Remaining Basel Standards in UK

The PRA proposals seek to address some of the remaining weaknesses in banks’ risk management systems and the regulatory framework by implementing certain remaining Basel III standards, including by implementing the adapted versions of the standards and restating without material modification those aspects of CRR which HM Treasury proposes to revoke and PRA proposes to restate in the PRA Rulebook. The proposals cover the following:

• Specification of the level and scope of application of the requirements for UK firms
• Revision to the definition of capital, particularly for the treatment of common equity tier 1 deductions for software assets and certain collective investment undertakings
• Revised Basel standards for prudent valuation of market risk and amendments to market risk management requirements
• Revised Basel standards for calculating risk-weighted exposures to collective investment undertakings under the standardized approach and a more prudent treatment of exposures to certain collective investment undertakings located and managed in third countries
• A new Basel standardized approach to counterparty credit risk (SA-CCR) and the revised Basel framework for exposures to central counterparties
• Clarification of the treatment of operating leases under the basic indicator approach for operational risk
• Implementation of the Basel III standards on revised large exposures framework, liquidity coverage ratio, and net stable funding ratio
• An update to supervisory reporting, including and update to the UK version of COREP and FINREP, through a combination of new returns and amendments to the existing reporting requirements. 
• Revisions to the Basel disclosure standards
• Interaction between the temporary transitional power and CRR rules
• Enhanced proportionality for smaller firms in the form of revised counterparty credit risk requirements (including a simpler SA-CCR approach and amendments to the original exposures method), a simpler NSFR, updates to the simplified capital requirements calculation for credit valuation adjustment risk, more proportionate market risk capital requirements as well as exemptions from new market risk reporting requirements, and tailored disclosure requirements.

The consultation paper does not propose any new rules on leverage to replace the proposed HM Treasury deletions from CRR. As referenced in the September 2020 Regulatory Initiatives Grid, the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) and Prudential Regulation Committee (PRC) have announced that they will conduct a review of the UK leverage ratio framework. This review is now expected to be completed in Summer of 2021 and will enable BoE to take the FPC and PRC’s decisions relating to the leverage ratio requirements into full consideration when reviewing minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities policy for mid-tier banks. This consultation paper is relevant for banks, building societies, PRA-designated investment firms, and PRA-approved or -designated financial or mixed financial holding companies. The proposed approach is expected to provide sufficient time for firms to embed the related supervisory reporting and build on the progress firms have already made toward implementation.

Related Links

• Notification
• CP5/21 (PDF)

Comment Due Date: May 03, 2021

Effective Date: January 01, 2022

Keywords: Europe, UK, Banking, Basel, PRA Rulebook, Reporting, Regulatory Capital, SA-CCR, Operational Risk, Market Risk, Credit Risk, Liquidity Risk, Large Exposures, Disclosures, IRRBB, CRR Rules Instrument, PRA