Basel ii Accord Sections 377 to 421

(ii) Expected loss for SL exposures subject to the supervisory slotting criteria
377. For SL exposures subject to the supervisory slotting criteria, the EL amount is
determined by multiplying 8% by the risk-weighted assets produced from the appropriate risk weights, as specified below, multiplied by EAD.
 
Supervisory categories and EL risk weights for other SL exposures
 
378. The risk weights for SL, other than HVCRE, are as follows:
Where, at national discretion, supervisors allow banks to assign preferential risk weights to
other SL exposures falling into the “strong” and “good” supervisory categories as outlined in
paragraph 277, the corresponding EL risk weight is 0% for “strong” exposures, and 5% for
“good” exposures.
 
Supervisory categories and EL risk weights for HVCRE
 
379. The risk weights for HVCRE are as follows:
 
 
Even where, at national discretion, supervisors allow banks to assign preferential risk
weights to HVCRE exposures falling into the “strong” and “good” supervisory categories as
outlined in paragraph 282, the corresponding EL risk weight will remain at 5% for both
“strong” and “good” exposures.
 
2. Calculation of provisions
 
(i) Exposures subject to IRB approach
 
380. Total eligible provisions are defined as the sum of all provisions (e.g. specific
provisions, partial write-offs, portfolio-specific general provisions such as country risk
provisions or general provisions) that are attributed to exposures treated under the IRB
approach. In addition, total eligible provisions may include any discounts on defaulted assets.
 
Specific provisions set aside against equity and securitisation exposures must not be
included in total eligible provisions.
 
(ii) Portion of exposures subject to the standardised approach to credit risk
 
381. Banks using the standardised approach for a portion of their credit risk exposures,
either on a transitional basis (as defined in paragraphs 257 and 258), or on a permanent
basis if the exposures subject to the standardised approach are immaterial (paragraph 259),
must determine the portion of general provisions attributed to the standardised or IRB
treatment of provisions (see paragraph 42) according to the methods outlined in paragraphs
382 and 383.
 
382. Banks should generally attribute total general provisions on a pro rata basis
according to the proportion of credit risk-weighted assets subject to the standardised and IRB approaches. However, when one approach to determining credit risk-weighted assets (i.e. standardised or IRB approach) is used exclusively within an entity, general provisions
booked within the entity using the standardised approach may be attributed to the
standardised treatment. Similarly, general provisions booked within entities using the IRB
approach may be attributed to the total eligible provisions as defined in paragraph 380.
 
383. At national supervisory discretion, banks using both the standardised and IRB
approaches may rely on their internal methods for allocating general provisions for
recognition in capital under either the standardised or IRB approach, subject to the following
conditions. Where the internal allocation method is made available, the national supervisor
will establish the standards surrounding their use. Banks will need to obtain prior approval
from their supervisors to use an internal allocation method for this purpose.
 
3. Treatment of EL and provisions
 
384. As specified in paragraph 43, banks using the IRB approach must compare the total
amount of total eligible provisions (as defined in paragraph 380) with the total EL amount as
calculated within the IRB approach (as defined in paragraph 375). In addition, paragraph 42
outlines the treatment for that portion of a bank that is subject to the standardised approach
to credit risk when the bank uses both the standardised and IRB approaches.
 
385. Where the calculated EL amount is lower than the provisions of the bank, its
supervisors must consider whether the EL fully reflects the conditions in the market in which
it operates before allowing the difference to be included in Tier 2 capital. If specific provisions exceed the EL amount on defaulted assets this assessment also needs to be made before using the difference to offset the EL amount on non-defaulted assets.
 
386. The EL amount for equity exposures under the PD/LGD approach is deducted 50%
from Tier 1 and 50% from Tier 2. Provisions or write-offs for equity exposures under the
PD/LGD approach will not be used in the EL-provision calculation. The treatment of EL and provisions related to securitisation exposures is outlined in paragraph 563.
 
H. Minimum Requirements for IRB Approach
 
387. Section III.H presents the minimum requirements for entry and on-going use of the
IRB approach. The minimum requirements are set out in 12 separate sections concerning:
(a) composition of minimum requirements,
(b) compliance with minimum requirements,
(c) rating system design,
(d) risk rating system operations,
(e) corporate governance and oversight,
(f) use of internal ratings,
(g) risk quantification,
(h) validation of internal estimates,
(i) supervisory LGD and EAD estimates,
(j) requirements for recognition of leasing,
(k) calculation of capital charges for equity exposures, and
(l) disclosure requirements.
 
It may be helpful to note that the minimum requirements cut across asset classes. Therefore, more than one asset class may be discussed within the context of a given minimum requirement.
 
1. Composition of minimum requirements
 
388. To be eligible for the IRB approach a bank must demonstrate to its supervisor that it
meets certain minimum requirements at the outset and on an ongoing basis. Many of these
requirements are in the form of objectives that a qualifying bank’s risk rating systems must
fulfil. The focus is on banks’ abilities to rank order and quantify risk in a consistent, reliable
and valid fashion.
 
389. The overarching principle behind these requirements is that rating and risk
estimation systems and processes provide for a meaningful assessment of borrower and
transaction characteristics; a meaningful differentiation of risk; and reasonably accurate and
consistent quantitative estimates of risk. Furthermore, the systems and processes must be
consistent with internal use of these estimates.
 
The Committee recognises that differences in markets, rating methodologies, banking products, and practices require banks and supervisors to customise their operational procedures. It is not the Committee’s intention to dictate the form or operational detail of banks’ risk management policies and practices. Each supervisor will develop detailed review procedures to ensure that banks’ systems and controls are adequate to serve as the basis for the IRB approach.
 
390. The minimum requirements set out in this document apply to all asset classes
unless noted otherwise. The standards related to the process of assigning exposures to
borrower or facility grades (and the related oversight, validation, etc.) apply equally to the
process of assigning retail exposures to pools of homogenous exposures, unless noted
otherwise.
 
391. The minimum requirements set out in this document apply to both foundation and
advanced approaches unless noted otherwise. Generally, all IRB banks must produce their
own estimates of PD (86)  and must adhere to the overall requirements for rating system design, operations, controls, and corporate governance, as well as the requisite requirements for estimation and validation of PD measures. Banks wishing to use their own estimates of LGD and EAD must also meet the incremental minimum requirements for these risk factors
included in paragraphs 468 to 489.
 
(86) Banks are not required to produce their own estimates of PD for certain equity exposures and certain exposures that fall within the SL sub-class.
 
2. Compliance with minimum requirements
 
392. To be eligible for an IRB approach, a bank must demonstrate to its supervisor that it
meets the IRB requirements in this document, at the outset and on an ongoing basis. Banks’
overall credit risk management practices must also be consistent with the evolving sound
practice guidelines issued by the Committee and national supervisors.
 
393. There may be circumstances when a bank is not in complete compliance with all the
minimum requirements. Where this is the case, the bank must produce a plan for a timely
return to compliance, and seek approval from its supervisor, or the bank must demonstrate
that the effect of such non-compliance is immaterial in terms of the risk posed to the
institution. Failure to produce an acceptable plan or satisfactorily implement the plan or to
demonstrate immateriality will lead supervisors to reconsider the bank’s eligibility for the IRB approach. Furthermore, for the duration of any non-compliance, supervisors will consider the need for the bank to hold additional capital under Pillar 2 or take other appropriate supervisory action.
 
3. Rating system design
 
394. The term “rating system” comprises all of the methods, processes, controls, and
data collection and IT systems that support the assessment of credit risk, the assignment of
internal risk ratings, and the quantification of default and loss estimates.
 
395. Within each asset class, a bank may utilise multiple rating methodologies/systems.
For example, a bank may have customised rating systems for specific industries or market
segments (e.g. middle market, and large corporate). If a bank chooses to use multiple
systems, the rationale for assigning a borrower to a rating system must be documented and
applied in a manner that best reflects the level of risk of the borrower.
 
Banks must not allocate borrowers across rating systems inappropriately to minimise regulatory capital requirements (i.e. cherry-picking by choice of rating system). Banks must demonstrate that each system used for IRB purposes is in compliance with the minimum requirements at the outset and on an ongoing basis.
 
(i) Rating dimensions
 
Standards for corporate, sovereign, and bank exposures
 
396. A qualifying IRB rating system must have two separate and distinct dimensions:
 
(i) the risk of borrower default, and (ii) transaction-specific factors.
 
397. The first dimension must be oriented to the risk of borrower default. Separate
exposures to the same borrower must be assigned to the same borrower grade, irrespective
of any differences in the nature of each specific transaction. There are two exceptions to this.
Firstly, in the case of country transfer risk, where a bank may assign different borrower
grades depending on whether the facility is denominated in local or foreign currency.
 
Secondly, when the treatment of associated guarantees to a facility may be reflected in an
adjusted borrower grade. In either case, separate exposures may result in multiple grades for the same borrower. A bank must articulate in its credit policy the relationship between
borrower grades in terms of the level of risk each grade implies. Perceived and measured
risk must increase as credit quality declines from one grade to the next. The policy must
articulate the risk of each grade in terms of both a description of the probability of default risk typical for borrowers assigned the grade and the criteria used to distinguish that level of
credit risk.
 
398. The second dimension must reflect transaction-specific factors, such as collateral,
seniority, product type, etc. For foundation IRB banks, this requirement can be fulfilled by the existence of a facility dimension, which reflects both borrower and transaction-specific
factors. For example, a rating dimension that reflects EL by incorporating both borrower
strength (PD) and loss severity (LGD) considerations would qualify. Likewise a rating system that exclusively reflects LGD would qualify. Where a rating dimension reflects EL and does not separately quantify LGD, the supervisory estimates of LGD must be used.
 
399. For banks using the advanced approach, facility ratings must reflect exclusively
LGD. These ratings can reflect any and all factors that can influence LGD including, but not
limited to, the type of collateral, product, industry, and purpose. Borrower characteristics may be included as LGD rating criteria only to the extent they are predictive of LGD. Banks may alter the factors that influence facility grades across segments of the portfolio as long as they can satisfy their supervisor that it improves the relevance and precision of their estimates.
 
400. Banks using the supervisory slotting criteria for the SL sub-class are exempt from
this two-dimensional requirement for these exposures. Given the interdependence between
borrower/transaction characteristics in SL, banks may satisfy the requirements under this
heading through a single rating dimension that reflects EL by incorporating both borrower
strength (PD) and loss severity (LGD) considerations. This exemption does not apply to
banks using either the general corporate foundation or advanced approach for the SL subclass.
 
Standards for retail exposures
 
401. Rating systems for retail exposures must be oriented to both borrower and
transaction risk, and must capture all relevant borrower and transaction characteristics.
Banks must assign each exposure that falls within the definition of retail for IRB purposes
into a particular pool. Banks must demonstrate that this process provides for a meaningful
differentiation of risk, provides for a grouping of sufficiently homogenous exposures, and
allows for accurate and consistent estimation of loss characteristics at pool level.
 
402. For each pool, banks must estimate PD, LGD, and EAD. Multiple pools may share
identical PD, LGD and EAD estimates. At a minimum, banks should consider the following
risk drivers when assigning exposures to a pool:
 
Borrower risk characteristics (e.g. borrower type, demographics such as
age/occupation);
 
Transaction risk characteristics, including product and/or collateral types (e.g. loan
to value measures, seasoning, guarantees; and seniority (first vs. second lien)).
Banks must explicitly address cross-collateral provisions where present.
 
Delinquency of exposure: Banks are expected to separately identify exposures that
are delinquent and those that are not.
 
(ii) Rating structure
 
Standards for corporate, sovereign, and bank exposures
 
403. A bank must have a meaningful distribution of exposures across grades with no
excessive concentrations, on both its borrower-rating and its facility-rating scales.
 
404. To meet this objective, a bank must have a minimum of seven borrower grades for
non-defaulted borrowers and one for those that have defaulted. Banks with lending activities
focused on a particular market segment may satisfy this requirement with the minimum
number of grades; supervisors may require banks, which lend to borrowers of diverse credit
quality, to have a greater number of borrower grades.
 
405. A borrower grade is defined as an assessment of borrower risk on the basis of a
specified and distinct set of rating criteria, from which estimates of PD are derived. The grade definition must include both a description of the degree of default risk typical for borrowers assigned the grade and the criteria used to distinguish that level of credit risk. Furthermore, “+” or “-” modifiers to alpha or numeric grades will only qualify as distinct grades if the bank has developed complete rating descriptions and criteria for their assignment, and separately quantifies PDs for these modified grades.
 
406. Banks with loan portfolios concentrated in a particular market segment and range of
default risk must have enough grades within that range to avoid undue concentrations of
borrowers in particular grades. Significant concentrations within a single grade or grades
must be supported by convincing empirical evidence that the grade or grades cover
reasonably narrow PD bands and that the default risk posed by all borrowers in a grade fall
within that band.
 
407. There is no specific minimum number of facility grades for banks using the
advanced approach for estimating LGD. A bank must have a sufficient number of facility
grades to avoid grouping facilities with widely varying LGDs into a single grade. The criteria
used to define facility grades must be grounded in empirical evidence.
 
408. Banks using the supervisory slotting criteria for the SL asset classes must have at
least four grades for non-defaulted borrowers, and one for defaulted borrowers. The
requirements for SL exposures that qualify for the corporate foundation and advanced
approaches are the same as those for general corporate exposures.
 
Standards for retail exposures
 
409. For each pool identified, the bank must be able to provide quantitative measures of
loss characteristics (PD, LGD, and EAD) for that pool. The level of differentiation for IRB
purposes must ensure that the number of exposures in a given pool is sufficient so as to
allow for meaningful quantification and validation of the loss characteristics at the pool level.
There must be a meaningful distribution of borrowers and exposures across pools. A single
pool must not include an undue concentration of the bank’s total retail exposure.
 
(iii) Rating criteria
 
410. A bank must have specific rating definitions, processes and criteria for assigning
exposures to grades within a rating system. The rating definitions and criteria must be both
plausible and intuitive and must result in a meaningful differentiation of risk.
 
The grade descriptions and criteria must be sufficiently detailed to allow those
charged with assigning ratings to consistently assign the same grade to borrowers
or facilities posing similar risk. This consistency should exist across lines of
business, departments and geographic locations. If rating criteria and procedures
differ for different types of borrowers or facilities, the bank must monitor for possible
inconsistency, and must alter rating criteria to improve consistency when
appropriate.
 
Written rating definitions must be clear and detailed enough to allow third parties to
understand the assignment of ratings, such as internal audit or an equally
independent function and supervisors, to replicate rating assignments and evaluate
the appropriateness of the grade/pool assignments.
 
The criteria must also be consistent with the bank’s internal lending standards and
its policies for handling troubled borrowers and facilities.
 
411. To ensure that banks are consistently taking into account available information, they
must use all relevant and material information in assigning ratings to borrowers and facilities. Information must be current. The less information a bank has, the more conservative must be its assignments of exposures to borrower and facility grades or pools.
 An external rating can be the primary factor determining an internal rating assignment; however, the bank must ensure that it considers other relevant information.
 
SL product lines within the corporate asset class
 
412. Banks using the supervisory slotting criteria for SL exposures must assign
exposures to their internal rating grades based on their own criteria, systems and processes,
subject to compliance with the requisite minimum requirements. Banks must then map these internal rating grades into the five supervisory rating categories. Tables 1 to 4 in Annex 6 provide, for each sub-class of SL exposures, the general assessment factors and
characteristics exhibited by the exposures that fall under each of the supervisory categories.
Each lending activity has a unique table describing the assessment factors and
characteristics.
 
(iv) Rating assignment horizon
 
414. Although the time horizon used in PD estimation is one year (as described in
paragraph 447), banks are expected to use a longer time horizon in assigning ratings.
 
415. A borrower rating must represent the bank’s assessment of the borrower’s ability
and willingness to contractually perform despite adverse economic conditions or the
occurrence of unexpected events. For example, a bank may base rating assignments on
specific, appropriate stress scenarios.
 
Alternatively, a bank may take into account borrower characteristics that are reflective of the borrower’s vulnerability to adverse economic conditions or unexpected events, without explicitly specifying a stress scenario. The range of economic conditions that are considered when making assessments must be consistent with current conditions and those that are likely to occur over a business cycle within the respective industry/geographic region.
 
416. Given the difficulties in forecasting future events and the influence they will have on
a particular borrower’s financial condition, a bank must take a conservative view of projected
information. Furthermore, where limited data are available, a bank must adopt a conservative bias to its analysis.
 
(v) Use of models
 
417. The requirements in this section apply to statistical models and other mechanical
methods used to assign borrower or facility ratings or in estimation of PDs, LGDs, or EADs.
Credit scoring models and other mechanical rating procedures generally use only a subset of available information. Although mechanical rating procedures may sometimes avoid some of the idiosyncratic errors made by rating systems in which human judgement plays a large
role, mechanical use of limited information also is a source of rating errors.
 
Credit scoring models and other mechanical procedures are permissible as the primary or partial basis of rating assignments, and may play a role in the estimation of loss characteristics. Sufficient human judgement and human oversight is necessary to ensure that all relevant and material information, including that which is outside the scope of the model, is also taken into consideration, and that the model is used appropriately.
 
The burden is on the bank to satisfy its supervisor that a model or procedure has
good predictive power and that regulatory capital requirements will not be distorted
as a result of its use. The variables that are input to the model must form a
reasonable set of predictors. The model must be accurate on average across the
range of borrowers or facilities to which the bank is exposed and there must be no
known material biases.
 
The bank must have in place a process for vetting data inputs into a statistical
default or loss prediction model which includes an assessment of the accuracy,
completeness and appropriateness of the data specific to the assignment of an
approved rating.
 
The bank must demonstrate that the data used to build the model are representative
of the population of the bank’s actual borrowers or facilities.
When combining model results with human judgement, the judgement must take
into account all relevant and material information not considered by the model. The
bank must have written guidance describing how human judgement and model
results are to be combined.
 
The bank must have procedures for human review of model-based rating
assignments. Such procedures should focus on finding and limiting errors
associated with known model weaknesses and must also include credible ongoing
efforts to improve the model’s performance.
 
The bank must have a regular cycle of model validation that includes monitoring of
model performance and stability; review of model relationships; and testing of model
outputs against outcomes.
 
(vi) Documentation of rating system design
 
418. Banks must document in writing their rating systems’ design and operational details.
The documentation must evidence banks’ compliance with the minimum standards, and must address topics such as portfolio differentiation, rating criteria, responsibilities of parties that rate borrowers and facilities, definition of what constitutes a rating exception, parties that have authority to approve exceptions, frequency of rating reviews, and management
oversight of the rating process.
 
A bank must document the rationale for its choice of internal rating criteria and must be able to provide analyses demonstrating that rating criteria and procedures are likely to result in ratings that meaningfully differentiate risk. Rating criteria and procedures must be periodically reviewed to determine whether they remain fully applicable to the current portfolio and to external conditions.
 
In addition, a bank must document a history of major changes in the risk rating process, and such documentation must support identification of changes made to the risk rating process subsequent to the last supervisory review. The organisation of rating assignment, including the internal control structure, must also be documented.
 
419. Banks must document the specific definitions of default and loss used internally and
demonstrate consistency with the reference definitions set out in paragraphs 452 to 460.
 
420. If the bank employs statistical models in the rating process, the bank must document
their methodologies. This material must:
 
Provide a detailed outline of the theory, assumptions and/or mathematical and
empirical basis of the assignment of estimates to grades, individual obligors,
exposures, or pools, and the data source(s) used to estimate the model;
 
Establish a rigorous statistical process (including out-of-time and out-of-sample
performance tests) for validating the model; and
 
Indicate any circumstances under which the model does not work effectively.
421. Use of a model obtained from a third-party vendor that claims proprietary technology
is not a justification for exemption from documentation or any other of the requirements for
internal rating systems. The burden is on the model’s vendor and the bank to satisfy
supervisors.
    
 

 

 

Sarbanes Oxley Training
Courses designed to provide with the knowledge and skills needed to understand and support Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
www.sarbanes-oxley-training.com  
 
Basel ii Training
Courses designed to provide with the knowledge and skills needed to understand and support Basel ii compliance.
www.basel-ii-training.com 
 
Sarbanes Oxley Act
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance: Books, Software, Certification, Training and Resources.
www.sarbanes-oxley-act.biz 
 
Basel ii Accord
Basel ii Compliance: Books, Software, Certification, Training and Resources
http://www.basel-ii-accord.com/  
 
Compliance Training
Sarbanes Oxley, Basel ii, Data Protection Directive, Information Security Training
www.compliance-training.net