Global banking regulators are planning to examine the question of how to treat banks’ exposures to crypto assets under capital rules.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said it will undertake a public consultation on the possible prudential treatment of crypto by bank regulators.
“While banks’ exposures to cryptoassets are currently limited, the continued growth and innovation in cryptoassets and related services, coupled with the heightened interest of some banks, could increase global financial stability concerns and risks to the banking system in the absence of a specified prudential treatment,” the group said in a release.
As a result, it is planning to hold a consultation on the design of a possible capital treatment of banks’ crypto exposures. The paper will be published later this week, it said.
At the same time, the committee reiterated its guidance that global banks should use their capital and liquidity buffers to help absorb the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure that they can continue supplying credit to households and businesses.
The committee said it will continue to monitor banks’ provisioning practices during the pandemic, and that regulators will monitor the implementation of temporary relief provided to banks to help them deal with the economic fallout from the pandemic to ensure those relief measures are “unwound in good time.”
“The uneven recovery and uncertain global economic environment means that banks and supervisors must remain vigilant to further risks and vulnerabilities,” it said.