Basel III: Capital Requirements and Bank Risk Management

At a time when the world economy has just been shaken by the excesses of the banking and financial sector in 2008, the Basel III agreements propose a strengthening of the solvency ratio. Securitisation and the massive growth of balance sheets not backed by adequate capital is at the heart of the debate. The only measure completed in 2012, it aims in particular to prevent any systemic risk by combating the risk of bankruptcy. This 2012 paper examines this measure and determines whether the new capital requirements help to reduce bank failures and redirect banks' activity towards their original business. We base our argument on an extensive literature review complemented by an empirical study showing a positive correlation between capital and failure risk for unlisted banks and the focus of risks on banks' core business.