World’s bank watchdogs told to deal with weak lenders fast

REGULATORS across the world must be able to intrusively monitor banks permanently, not just in the wake of the crisis, international watchdog the Basel Committee said yesterday.

Each country’s authorities must be able to identify weak banks rapidly, by constantly monitoring key figures such as capital and liquidity posit-ions, it said in a consultation paper.

The regulators should also make sure they looked forward to identify any potential future problems to stop crises arising in future, for instance by regularly analysing and stress testing business plans.

And the Basel Committee told regulators to warn their country’s banks against excessive specialisation, with too much focus on specific sources of funding, or concentration of lending.