Abstract
Global standards and regulations have significantly shaped the international banking
environment and banking regulations over the last four decades. The international
banking environment has become more complex and potentially riskier due to the
combined effects of innovations, technological advances, rapid world financial market
integrations and financial deregulations. This study focuses solely on the
implementation of the Basel Accord in various jurisdictions. The Basel Accord is an
agreement that was set up in 1988 as the initial step in creating international standards
for banking regulations. Since 1988, several amendments have followed which have
impacted the banking sector. The study critically analyses the implementation of the
Basel Accord in terms of which Basel Accords have been successfully implemented
and adopted by the different jurisdictions, which components of each Basel Accord
have been adopted and which still require adoption and what are the jurisdictions’’
status in terms of Basel Accord compliance. Empirical studies focus primarily on the
implementation of Basel II in the respective jurisdictions with several the studies
focussing on Basel III which have mainly been conducted by the Basel Committee on
Banking Supervision or the Bank for International Settlements. This study analyses
the implementation of Basel in Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, the European Union, the
United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The study found that Basel I has
been fully and successfully implemented and adopted in all six jurisdictions. Basel II
standards have been fully implemented and adopted in four out of the six jurisdictions
as Nigeria is implementing it concurrent with Basel III while the United States of
America has only implemented certain standards of Basel II and Basel III. Basel III
standards are in the progress of being implemented and fully adopted as some of the
standards have been fully implemented while others have been drafted by waiting
implementation or have not yet been implemented at all.
Keywords: Basel, Basel Accords, Bank for International Settlements, Basel
Committee on Banking Supervision, South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria, the European Union,
the United Kingdom and the United States of America