Discussions continue on Basle I and II

The Central American council for banking and insurance regulation began a two day meeting on August 12 to discuss the topics including the implementation of the terms of the Basle I and II Committee, local press reported. Central American delegates are discussing the depth of the legislation, according to member of the Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros (CNBS) Rosalinda Cruz. Countries must review the Basle regulations carefully "in order see how we must adapt and comply with Basle I because there are differences in the terms in different participating nations," Cruz added. Among the issues touched upon under Basle II, Cruz will discuss the regulations concerning capital adequacy. Basle requires banking institutions to maintain 8% capital adequacy, whereas in Honduras it is currently 10%. "We see in general that in Central America the actual capital adequacy levels exceed the legal levels and that is good for financial systems," Cruz said.