WASHINGTON - Large US banks chiefly involved in specialised activities, such as securities custody, payment processing and asset management, will not be badly disadvantaged by the proposed operational risk capital charge, despite claims to the contrary.

WASHINGTON - In a counterblast to regulators who suggest that a capital charge for operational risk will have no competitive impact, Financial Guardian Group (FGG), a Washington-based advocacy firm, published in February a study arguing that the proposed charge will actually have serious, adverse implications.

MELBOURNE - Australia and Singapore are the Asia-Pacific countries where banks are making best progress towards the implementation of the new, risk-based Basel capital accord.

Pakistan has decided to adopt the new Basel capital accord, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country\'s central bank, announced at the end of March.

BASEL - Banks and investment firms seem likely to give a mixed reception to new regulatory proposals dealing with their trading book risks, published on April 11, as part of the ambitious rewrite of the capital adequacy rules for banks around the world.

LONDON - Europe\'s banking regulators have developed a common financial reporting framework for banks designed to be consistent with new international accounting rules.

LONDON - By the end of 2006, supervisors across the European Union will have to disclose how they are applying and policing the new capital adequacy rules for banks, according to proposed guidelines published in late March.

BRUSSELS - The revised `roadmap\' for Europe\'s risk-based Solvency II project for making insurers safer envisages having a first draft, containing major parts of the Solvency II framework directive, ready for discussion by October.

WASHINGTON - Four federal US bank regulatory agencies announced in March that they are seeking comment on proposed changes to the supervisory framework for classifying commercial credit exposures.

WASHINGTON - US federal banking regulators warned of much work to be done as they worked towards the mid-year target for releasing US proposals for the implementation of the Basel II global capital rules.