The chairman of the European Central Bank's banking supervision committee has expressed his disquiet at US plans to delay implementation of the Basel II capital accord.
US regulators announced late Friday that they would delay implementation of Basel II by a year to 2008 and restrict the rate at which the nation's 20 largest banks could reduce their capital bases.
Speaking at a banking conference in Frankfurt, Edgar Meister, who is also a Bundesbank board member, says of the decision: "I'd have welcomed it if the implementation of Basel II in the US was at the same time as in Europe and other parts of the world, in line with agreements up to now."
The American Bankers Association (ABA) has also questioned the decision, saying the delay "risks leaving US institutions at a disadvantage while the rest of the world implements the internationally agreed upon framework".