MOSCOW - Banking reform in Russia has started to move again after nearly a decade of inactivity. Despite the turbulence that hit the banking sector in the early summer, rating agency Standard & Poor\'s is positive about the outlook.

LONDON - The recently-formed Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), which advises the EU Commission on technical aspects of financial legislation, has been charged with trying to reduce the 80-odd national discretions that have been introduced into the Basel II capital accord during five years of negotiations.

WASHINGTON - US Comptroller of the Currency John Hawke, shortly to leave office, is still worried about the possibility that rapidly evolving risk management practices could outpace the Basel II upgrade of international rules for bank safety.

MEXICO CITY - The Basel II rules for bank safety are likely to be implemented in a gradual manner in Brazil, with the new rules coexisting for a while with the old ones, according to a top Brazilian central banker.

TOKYO - Bank analysts are taking an upbeat view of the proposed merger between Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (MTFG) and United Financial of Japan (UFJ), to create the world\'s largest bank.

MUSSOORIE, India - It\'s too early to assess whether the Basel II upgrade of international rules for bank safety will give foreign banks a competitive advantage over domestic banks in emerging economies, according to the head of India\'s central bank.

NEW YORK - The more sophisticated measure of credit risk that forms an essential element in the new, Basel II capital adequacy framework, will help to promote stronger risk management practices among those banks around the world that adopt this approach.

SYDNEY, Australia - The need to co-ordinate with global banking regulators on the regulatory implications of new accounting rules is a major reason for \"hastening slowly\" with introducing the rules into Australia\'s prudential standards, a top Australian regulator says.

WELLINGTON - It\'s too early to tell whether there will be a divergence between New Zealand and Australian banking supervisors over the implementation of Basel II rules for bank safety, says a senior New Zealand regulator.

The saga of the embattled IAS 39 accounting rule continues with Europe seeking a diluted version and regulators embroiled on other fronts. David Keefe relates a tortuous tale.