Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: December 11, 2014

Revisions to the securitisation framework

“The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s revisions to the securitisation framework aim to address a number of shortcomings in the Basel II securitisation framework and to strengthen the capital standards for securitisation exposures held in the banking book. This framework, which will come into effect in January 2018, forms part of the Committee’s broader Basel III agenda to reform regulatory standards for banks in response to the global financial crisis and thus contributes to a more resilient banking sector.The crisis highlighted several weaknesses in the Basel II securitisation framework, including mechanistic reliance on external ratings, lack of risk sensitivity, cliff effects and insufficient capital for certain exposures. The Committee has revised the securitisation framework to address these issues. The most significant revisions with respect to the Basel II securitisation framework relate to changes in (i) the hierarchy of approaches; (ii) the risk drivers used in each approach; and (iii) the amount of regulatory capital banks must hold for exposures to securitisations (ie the framework’s calibration). The revised hierarchy of approaches reduces reliance on external ratings. It also simplifies and limits the number of approaches. At the top of this hierarchy is the Internal Ratings-Based Approach, which banks may use if their supervisors have approved their use of internal models. This is followed by the External Ratings-Based Approach – where credit ratings are permitted to be used in the jurisdiction – and the Standardised Approach. Additional risk drivers, notably an explicit adjustment to take account of the maturity of a securitisation’s tranche, have been introduced in order to address weaknesses in the Basel II framework, which resulted in under-capitalisation of certain exposures.”

Criteria for identifying simple, transparent and comparable securitisations

“The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) released today a consultative document on Criteria for identifying simple, transparent and comparable securitisations. The purpose of these criteria is to identify – and to assist the financial industry’s development of – simple, transparent and comparable securitisations structures, as well as to help… Continue Reading

SIGAR High Risk List

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction December 2014 “SIGAR’s experience in Afghanistan, as well as the experience of other oversight agencies, has shown that there are several sources of risk in implementing reconstruction programs in Afghanistan. These include (but are not limited to): • limited institutional and human-capital capacity in Afghan institutions • operational demands and constraints imposed by an… Continue Reading

Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, 1995–2013

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report, December 2014 “Among college-age females (ages 18 to 24), the rate of rape and sexual assault was 1.2 times higher for nonstudents than students for the period 1995–2013, the Bureau of Justice Statistics announced today. Nonstudents (65,700) accounted for more than double… Continue Reading

Predicting the Fallout from King v. Burwell – Exchanges and the ACA

Predicting the Fallout from King v. Burwell — Exchanges and the ACA – Nicholas Bagley, J.D., David K. Jones, Ph.D., and Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, J.D., December 10, 2014. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1414191. “The U.S. Supreme Court’s surprise announcement on November 7 that it would hear King v. Burwell  [759 F.3d 358] struck fear in the hearts of supporters of the… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – DOD Contract Services, Flood Insurance, Nuclear Weapons, DOJ Professional Misconduct

DOD Contract Services: Improved Planning and Implementation of Fiscal Controls Needed, GAO-15-115: Published: Dec 11, 2014. Publicly Released: Dec 11, 2014. DOE and NNSA Project Management: Analysis of Alternatives Could Be Improved by Incorporating Best Practices, GAO-15-37: Published: Dec 11, 2014. Publicly Released: Dec 11, 2014. Federal Subcontracting: Linking Small Business Subcontractors to Prime Contracts Is Not… Continue Reading