Different rules for finance and banking

Comments on Stephen Grenville “A post-GFC international framework for finance and banking”, 22/03/2010, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/03/22/a-post-gfc-international-framework-for-finance-and-banking/

There may be a need for different set of rules to be applied to different types of banks and financial institutions.

For predominantly domestic banks, that the rules may be more relaxed and each country's authority can deal with them as they see fit, because there is not much international ramifications if a domestic bank failed.

For international banks, that is, they have extensive international operations, the rules should be international by nature, or subject to each and every countries rules where they operate.

So, overreacting and introducing unnecessarily harsh rules can be very harmful. They will certainly raise capital costs in many countries unnecessarily.

The point made by Grenville that most Asian banks including Australian banks worked well during the global financial suggests that not many changes will be necessarily needed for those countries.