The Central Bank has been designated as macro-prudential authority for this purpose in March 2014. From 1 January 2016, as agreed throughout Europe, all banks will have to begin building one of these buffers, the capital conservation buffer, for an additional 2.5 per cent of riskweighted assets.
Liquidity Requirements, which were domestic until then, are now harmonised at a much tighter level under the liquidity coverage ratio. The existing Central Bank Liquidity Requirements which were introduced in January 2007 are being replaced by this LCR which will be fully binding in 2018.