Should Europe continue implementing Basel “faithfully” if major jurisdictions selectively adapt it?

The European Parliament briefing, “US implementation of Basel III: A first assessment of the March 2026 consultation paper”, (link in the first comment) examines how US regulators are finally moving toward implementing the remaining Basel III banking reforms — years after the internationally agreed 2023 deadline. The paper focuses on the March 2026 consultation proposals from the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC, and evaluates whether the US approach preserves financial stability and competitive neutrality.

The core takeaway →

The US is not rejecting Basel III — but it is implementing it in a distinctly American way:

• Much narrower scope

• Simpler regulatory framework

• Less reliance on internal risk models

• Selective easing of capital requirements

The briefing argues this does not amount to outright regulatory arbitrage, but it does create important deviations from the international Basel framework that could affect global competition and systemic risk.

The core tension that increasingly defines post-2023 global banking regulation is between:

• simplicity and competitiveness

  vs.

• risk sensitivity and prudential rigor.