The core objective of Basel II is to promote the stability of the financial system by setting out the parameters on which to base the safe and sound operation of banks. By definition, financial intermediaries are here to take different levels of risk which they manage differently from each other.
Banks remain at the heart of this system of financial intermediation, whether at the individual country or international level. As such, their safety and soundness has implications for financial stability, for consumers of financial services, for banks across the board, for regulators and for entire economies.