Basel Ia RBC Proposal Slated for Oct. 6

Federal banking regulators are planning to issue a risk-based capital proposal Oct. 6 that updates the current Basel I capital standard and makes it more risk-sensitive.The RBC proposal, known as Basel Ia, would apply to most U.S. banks, except for the very largest U.S. banks that are supposed to adopt a more sophisticated RBC standard known as Basel II. Federal regulators also announced that they have extended the timetable for testing and implementing Basel II by one year to January 2008. And they have delayed issuing the Basel II notice of proposed rulemaking until the first quarter of 2006. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve Board have scheduled open board meetings to discuss the Basel Ia proposal on Oct. 6. "The revised transition schedule for the domestic implementation of the Basel II framework will permit industry consideration of and public comment on these two rulemaking initiatives along similar timeframes," the regulators said.