Authorities have raised capital requirements by implementing the EU legislation, and in several instances going somewhat beyond this by taking advantage of the room for national discretion included in the directives. Perhaps even more importantly, bank themselves have taken steps to become substantially better capitalised, often going well beyond the regulatory minimum requirement.
13 But when the music stops, it’s impossible for everybody to carry on dancing. It is interesting to note that some of these problems had already surfaced in the aftermath of the corporate scandals of 2003.