Japanese regulators have issued their guidelines for Basel II, but for some there\'s too much pillar 1 and not enough pillar 2. David Keefe reports

Market participants support credit rating agencies\' fight against regulation. Political pressure in EU for agencies to be reined in By Melvyn Westlake

Patricia Jackson, the Bank of England\'s special adviser on financial stability, will become a partner in the risk management practice of professional services firm Ernst& Young from mid-December.

Two-step introduction of new accord as supervisors struggle to enforce existing regulations and banks grapple with bad loans. But should corporate clean-up take priority?

LONDON - Long sought cooperation among EU member states, in the promotion of financial services, will be enhanced by the setting-up in London of the Committee of European of Banking Supervisors (CEBS), according to British finance minister Gordon Brown.

WASHINGTON - Some 30 US banks have shown an interest in taking part in the fourth quantitative impact study - QIS 4 - into the possible effects on them of the Basel II rules for improving bank safety.

LONDON - If the new Basel II capital framework for banks were to be applied today, the risk-weighted assets and regulatory capital requirements of most banks would likely fall, in some cases substantially, according to rating agency Standard and Poor\'s.

HONG KONG - Banks in Asia are heading for better times. The restructuring that followed the east Asia financial crisis in 1997-98 is yielding positive results. Credit profiles of many banks in Asia are improving, along with many banking systems.

SYDNEY, Australia - Banks and their regulators \"need to think a lot more\" about the second pillar - the supervisory review process - of the three pillars of the complex, risk-based Basel II bank safety rules, a senior Australian banking supervisor said in late October.