Basel II is a set of international banking regulations first released in 2004 by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. It expanded the rules for minimum capital requirements established under Basel I, the first international regulatory accord, provided a framework for regulatory supervision and set new disclosure requirements for assessing the capital adequacy of banks. The accord has been implemented in different ways by different countries, but all aim to ensure that banks have enough reserves on hand to cover potential losses and avoid another global financial crisis like that which occurred in 2008.Critics argue that Basel II did not go far enough to prevent future crises, as it allowed some large banks to continue using complex financial instruments which hid their true level of risk exposure. In addition, critics say that regulators were not given adequate resources or authority under Basel II to properly supervise the banking system. Nevertheless, most experts agree that Basel II played an important role in restoring confidence in the global banking system after 2008 and should be retained going forward.
