July 20, 2007

Statement of Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd and Ranking Member Richard Shelby on Federal Banking Regulators Agreement on Basel II Regulations

“We are pleased that federal banking regulators have reached a consensus on implementing the Basel II Capital Accords. The successful implementation of Basel II is vital to ensuring that the U.S. banking system is adequately capitalized and that U.S. financial services firms remain competitive in the global economy. As we stated in our letter to banking regulators on Tuesday, we believed that it was imperative that all four federal banking regulators support the final Basel II regulations. We commend banking regulators for reaching a unanimous agreement and appreciate their stated commitment to achieve consensus throughout implementation. We remain committed to continuing our oversight of Basel II during the implementation period to ensure the safety and soundness of the U.S. banking system.”