Basel Capital Regulations over Pre and Post Basel III Regime: An Indian Scenario

Abstract

The adequacy of capital has become a concerned issue because banks being the highly leveraged sector face high risks. So, it is desirable to know at which level of capital is adequate for banks. The focus on capital have existed for a long time but now the definition of capital has changed for banking business due to changes and advancement in banking operations. A bank with higher capital adequacy ratio is considered safe and capable to meet its obligations. The Reserve Bank of India requires all scheduled commercial banks to meet the capital level as stipulated under Basel III norms to comply with international standards. According to the guidelines of Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the banks should maintain that level of capital where a bank can easily recover unexpected shocks and crisis. The adequacy of capital is the measure of financial soundness of banks and indicator of financial health of banks. The banking activities are exposed to various kinds of risks and to manage these risks, banks must maintain sufficient capital. Therefore, it is necessary to set the regulatory guidelines for limits of capital hold by banks. Thus, the present study intends to examine the trends and consistency of capital adequacy ratio of twenty one Indian public sector banks for the period of ten years (2008–2017). The results conclude that the level of capital ratio as per Basel III norms maintained by Indian public sector banks determines the bank’s strength and position.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21863/jcar/2024.13.2.006

Keywords: Basel III, Capital Regulations, Capital Adequacy Ratio, Indian Public Sector Banks

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