TITLE:
Quantitative Analysis of the Impact of Basel II Accord on Greek Banks: The Application of IRB Approach
AUTHORS:
Anna Donatou, Ioannis Leventides
KEYWORDS:
Basel Accords, Capital Requirements, Credit Risk, Banking Supervision, IRB Approach
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Financial Risk Management,
Vol.11 No.1,
February
18,
2022
ABSTRACT: In this paper, after conducting a series of alternative scenarios for
various factors, we examine the implementation of Basel II capital adequacy
rules on Greek Banks, according to the Internal Rating Based Approach (IRB),
introduced by Basel II Accord. The IRB approach allows the development and use
of models measuring the three main risks (credit, market, and operational).
However, up to now, the researches that have been examined these risks for
Greek Banks are very limited, and the impact of adverse events on the loan
portfolio of the Greek Banking System has not yet been satisfactorily
evaluated. In this empirical study, the Greek Banks are clustered into three
separate groups, in particularly large, medium, and small size. The model
formed provides information for supervisory reasons as for the level of capital
maintained, depending on the nature of activities and risks taken by a Bank.
The results show that the IRB approach is more appropriate for larger Banks,
which can invest in risk management and maximize profit to risk ratios. For
Banks with lower capital, this methodology could entail high risks. From the
study, it was, also observed that retail portfolios and mortgage portfolios are
favored due to credit risk, a benefit that is attributed to risk dispersion and
collaterals (mortgages).