Doubts quickly mounted about whether these institutions could sustain losses in the value of many assets they held. Further doubts were raised about whether these firms had enough cash and other liquid assets to meet the immediate or potential demands of short-term creditors and large institutional customers.
Some of these entities fear they will face a rival that will get a capital break because the rival is following Basel II and has lower risk exposures recognized by the new accord. The extent to which regulatory capital requirements drive pricing or profitability is an empirical question.