The Bank of England said on Friday it would delay the implementation of tougher bank capital requirements by one year until January 2027, amid an aggressive pushback against the stricter global standards in the United States.
The standards written by the global Basel Committee are designed as the final set of international reforms to make the banking system safer after the 2008 global financial crisis, and are meant to be implemented by member jurisdictions.
They have faced fierce opposition from U.S. banks. The potential next head of the U.S. banking regulator under incoming president Donald Trump, Travis Hill, has laid out plans for lighter touch regulation and said he would reconsider the capital rules known as the 'Basel endgame'.
Shares in British banks made modest gains in early trading after the BoE announcement, with Barclays (BARC.L) up 0.8%, Lloyds (LLOY.L) up 0.5% and HSBC (HSBA.L) up 0.1%, compared to a 0.8% gain for the wider FTSE 100 index.
Britain's Labour government has been pressuring UK regulators to do more to promote growth, with finance minister Rachel Reeves reiterating on Thursday that watchdogs had a key role to play.
The BoE's statement on the Basel 3.1 regulation was published by its regulatory arm the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), having made the decision in consultation with Britain's Treasury.
"This allows more time for greater clarity to emerge about plans for its implementation in the United States," the PRA said, adding that it had taken into account competitiveness and growth considerations.
Implementation of the reforms in Britain had previously been delayed last summer by about six months to January 2026.
Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods said earlier this month that Britain should avoid participating in a "race to the bottom" on financial regulation.
The regulator has already said it will adjust some Basel proposals to the needs of its domestic banking system, including capital requirements for small business lending.
