Working Group on Banking Supervision
The "Working Group on Banking Supervision" (Banking Supervision WG) deals with all key issues relating to banking supervision rules. At a lower level, expert panels examine the issues of
- credit,
- operational risk,
- trading,
- securitisations,
- own funds,
- liquidity,
- the minimum requirements for risk management (Mindestanforderungen an das Risikomanagement or MaRisk) and
- disclosure requirements.
These expert panels are made up of experts from the banking industry, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the Deutsche Bundesbank. They draw up proposals for tackling technical issues and evaluate the implications of alternative approaches.
Members of the Banking Supervision WG discuss the suggested solutions in a wider context and decide how to proceed further. This working group includes representatives of the central associations of the banking industry which together form the industry association "The German Banking Industry" (Die Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft).
To ensure as much transparency as possible, BaFin and the Bundesbank publish the minutes of the meetings on their websites.
Background information on the "Working Group on Banking Supervision":
In order to prepare for national implementation of Basel II and Brussels II, in 2003 Germany’s banking supervisors set up the "Implementation of Basel II Working Group" as well as expert panels to consider the issues of
- the Internal Ratings-Based Approach,
- operational risk,
- credit protection techniques,
- securitisations,
- the Supervisory Review Process and
- disclosure requirements.
The objective was to prepare for the national implementation of Basel II and the appropriate EU directives.
Based on the positive experience made with this institutionalised dialogue between supervisory authorities and the banking industry, BaFin and the Bundesbank agreed in 2007 to continue this form of cooperation under a new name, "Working Group on Banking Supervision" (Banking Supervision WG), and to adapt the expert panels accordingly.