As they act immediately and are proportionate to the depth of the business cycle, automatic stabilisers can be more timely and targeted than discretionary policies, and do not suffer from political economy risks that can undermine the effectiveness of the discretionary measures. The volume of public resources made available or committed by governments has no precedent.
Regarding capital requirements, the most important regulatory measure was Basel III, which introduced not only stricter capital requirements but also new liquidity rules. In the EU, CRD IV and CRR ensure harmonised implementation of the Basel III framework across all member states.