The Journey from Basel I to Basel III: History and fundamentals explained

Abstract

Someone once wisely said, ‘Basel is a journey, rather than a destination’. Whilst the ordinary European would think of the small Swiss city, bankers and regulatory geeks will of course know that ‘Basel’ stands for the accords that are being decided upon by the so-called Basel Committee, a sub-committee of the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), which – no surprise – is headquartered in the little city of Basel, Switzerland.