A good use of Augustine's Confessions in the FT this morning. Good to see that Lex writers keep up the standard. Here is the intro to today's piece on Basel III:
“Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.” Bank regulators seem to understand the sentiment of the youthful St Augustine. The post-crisis Basel III capital standards delay banks’ day of mortification.
For banks, this is good news. The minimum ratio of core tier one capital to risk-weighted assets will be 7 per cent, a widely expected relative leniency. But the deadline was not the expected 2012. Instead, banks have until January 1 2019 until all Basel III’s counter-cyclical provisions come into force.
This same quote was used (with a reference to St. Augustine) in one of the first episodes (probably even the pilot) of the US TV series 'Nurse Jackie'.
Posted by: VS | September 14, 2010 at 10:23 PM