Which committee was created in 1974 to improve international banking supervision?

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision was created in 1974 to improve international banking supervision. Central bank governors from the Group of Ten countries established it after serious disruptions in international banking, including the failure of Bankhaus Herstatt.

The committee provides a forum for cooperation among banking supervisors. It develops standards and recommendations rather than directly regulating banks around the world. National authorities decide how to implement its frameworks in their own jurisdictions.

Its best-known work includes the Basel I, Basel II, and Basel III capital standards. These frameworks address issues such as minimum capital, credit risk, liquidity, and banks’ ability to withstand financial shocks.

The committee is often called the Basel Committee because its secretariat is hosted by the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland. It is not the same as the Financial Stability Board, which has a broader financial-system mandate.