Oxley: Take More Time on Basel Standard

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, wants federal regulators to take more time in developing the Basel II risk-based capital standard."I would encourage the U.S. regulators to allow time for all the data to be understood before making any international commitments regarding final text and implementation," Rep. Oxley said at a hearing Wednesday. "Major changes may be needed both here and abroad before the final proposal is ready." A Basel II impact study shows that banks with similar assets and risk profiles had widely different capital requirements. And the lack of comparability among the 26 large banks surprised regulators. The regulators have already admitted that they need more time to evaluate the results and have postponed the issuance of a Basel II proposal for public comment. However, the Federal Reserve Board wants to continue with the current timetable, which calls for implementation of Basel II by Jan. 1, 2007. But the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of Thrift Supervision indicated that they are not as committed to that timetable. "We may be moving too quickly," acting OTS Director Richard Riccobono testified.