It is therefore up to supervisors to strike the optimal balance between the safety and soundness of the banking system and the need for a level playing field. In the longer run, efforts should be made to harmonize capital requirements among different institutions conducting the same activities, or at least to bring them into closer alignment. 9.
Another principle that the Basle Committee wants to uphold is that the basic framework of the Capital Accord, i.e. minimum capital requirements based on risk-weighted exposures, has not outlived its usefulness. Put differently, it should be maintained as much as possible.