This has been a joint effort of central banks and securities regulators, and it has included representatives of countries with developing financial markets in addition to Group of Ten countries. As cross-border investing has grown, the argument for common minimum standards has become compelling. But standards without implementation are worthless.
Critical components of securities settlement systems in many jurisdictions, including the United States, are governed by private-sector users. Realization of the benefit of full implementation of these standards requires a partnership with the private sector. The supervisory process, too, has shifted toward a greater focus on risk management. A key goal of Basel II is to better align regulatory capital requirements with risk.