The Basel Committee has put in place a process to systematically assess the quantitative impact of Basel II on the level and cyclicality of capital. We will take appropriate steps if the results of our capital monitoring suggest the capital framework is unduly procyclical. But even more importantly, we need to build countercyclical buffers into capital frameworks and provisioning practices.
*  *  *  Good afternoon Lord Mayor, Mrs. Ruth Martin and other members of the SII team, Colleagues from the BIBF, Ladies and Gentlemen, As Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and in my capacity as Chairman of the BIBF, I would like to welcome you all to the launch of a new partnership between the BIBF and the Securities & Investment Institute (SII).