Congratulations Basel?

Sir Ira Sohn in” Without Basel II it could have been so much worse”, January 31, says "thanks in part, to the Basel II regulations... a global systemic failure was averted". Come on! Be real.

Haven’t the authorities of Basel done enough of self-congratulation over the years to enlist what can only be explained as a spin doctor or a silly fan, and even managing to enlist FT in that?

Of course it is good that banks should take account of the pillar number 2 of Basel II that has to do with operational risks; especially since those rules should have been applied without any Basel regulation; and especially since more operational care might have even been retarded by the regulator not including it in Basel I and forcing banks to focus on other things.

But, what about the other 2 pillars? Pillar 1, the minimum capital requirements based solely on risk as measured by the credit rating agencies, drove the bank risks into no man land with doubtful guides. Pillar 3, market transparency, sounds now only as a bad joke when no one in the market seems to be in a position to understand what on earth is going on.