Implementation of disclosures for Basel II Pillar 3 enhancements and revisions

Document Properties

  • Type of Publication: Letter
  • Date: July 13, 2011
  • To:
    • Banks,
    • Bank Holding Companies,
    • Federally Regulated Trust and Loan Companies

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) published the Enhancements to the Basel II FrameworkFootnote 1 in July 2009 and Revisions to the Basel II Market Risk FrameworkFootnote 2 in February 2011. Pillar 3 of the enhanced frameworks describes the disclosure requirements for institutions.

Enhancements to the Basel II Framework strengthen disclosure requirements under Pillar 3 in several key areas, including: securitisation exposures in the trading book; sponsorship of off-balance sheet vehicles; resecuritisation exposures; and, pipeline and warehousing risks with regard to securitisation exposures. Revisions to the Basel II Market Risk Framework incorporate additional disclosure requirements under Pillar 3 including disclosures on the incremental risk capital charge, the comprehensive risk capital charge and the stressed value-at-risk (VaR) requirement.

This letter provides additional clarification on the implementation of the Pillar 3 enhanced disclosure requirements for federally regulated deposit-taking institutions and builds on OSFI’s November 2007 AdvisoryFootnote 3 on Pillar 3 Disclosure Requirements.

Consistent with OSFI’s June 18, 2010 letterFootnote 4 on the implementation of the Basel II capital enhancements, OSFI expects that disclosures for Pillar 3 enhancements and revisions will be implemented in the first quarter of fiscal 2012.

Further, while the Basel II textFootnote 5 indicates that qualitative disclosures that provide a general summary of a bank’s risk management objectives and policies, reporting systems and definitions may be published on an annual basis, it is OSFI’s view that the qualitative disclosures enable investors and other users of financial statements to have a better understanding of the quantitative disclosures that are required in quarterly reports. As such, OSFI expects that the first quarter of fiscal 2012 disclosures should include full qualitative disclosures in Pillar 3 enhancements and revisions to complement the required quantitative disclosures.

OSFI expects institutions to continue to comply with the original Pillar 3 requirements and now to comply with the enhanced Pillar 3 requirements. Issues of non-compliance will continue to be addressed on a case-by-case basis through bilateral discussions with institutions.

Questions concerning this letter should be addressed to Laural Ross, Director, Accounting Policy Division by email at laural.ross@osfi-bsif.gc.ca or by telephone at (613) 990-6972.

  • Julie Dickson
  • Superintendent

Footnotes

Footnote 1

BCBS: Enhancements to the Basel II Framework, July 2009. http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs157.pdf

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Footnote 2

BCBS: Revisions to the Basel II Market Risk Framework, February 2011. http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs193.pdf

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Footnote 3

OSFI Advisory: http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/app/DocRepository/1/eng/guidelines/capital/advisories/pillar_adv_e.pdf

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Footnote 4

OSFI Letter: http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/app/DocRepository/1/eng/guidelines/capital/advisories/bsl_frmwk_imp_e.pdf

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Footnote 5

BCBS: International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards, A Revised Framework Comprehensive Version issued June 2006. http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs128.htm

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