The Chairman of the Basel Committee, Stefan Ingves, delivered a speech entitled Liquidity risk management – the LCR and beyond. In addition to discussing the Basel III liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and net stable funding ratio (NSFR), Chairman Ingves reminded banks that “the LCR and NSFR are not meant to be the first line of defence against banks’ liquidity problems.” He observed that “the LCR and NSFR are relatively simple quantitative measures that cannot hope to fully capture the many nuances of liquidity risk that a bank may face” and that “[b]anks must develop a range of quantitative and qualitative controls for themselves to ensure that they are prepared for the volatility in their cash flows that is inherent in the complexity of banks’ business models.” In this context, Chairman Ingves discussed the Basel Committee’s Principles for sound liquidity risk management and supervision and concluded by stating that:
“The first line of defence against the impact of future liquidity shocks on the banking system is stronger risk management by banks themselves.… Read More