be a clarion call for putting emphasis on regulation and supervision of banks. the then financial crisis found both central banks and banks ill - equipped and lacking in respect of skills in risk management. they were both unprepared for disruptive shocks to financial stability. for many years, a select group of central bankers used to meet regularly at the bank for international settlements in basel. supervisory officials, too, forming part of the central banking community had joined in to discuss matters of common interest. the basel committee on banking regulation and regulatory practices eventually took shape. if i understand correctly, it later came to be known as the basel committee on banking supervision ( bcbs for short ). the concerns for financial stability in the wake of the collapse of the two banks in 1974 i referred to earlier and the breakdown of the bretton woods system that subsequently ushered in a phase of financial sector liberalisation, including exchange control liberalization worldwide, gave rise to quite a wide spectrum of risks. if unchecked, they could jeopardise financial stability. the first basel standard, basel i, also known as the basel accords, was a product of the cooke committee, after peter cooke from the bank of england who chaired the basel committee for more than a decade. the cooke committee report was agreed in 1988, a response to the collapse of the franklin national bank and of the bankhaus herstatt in 1974 and to other considerations. basel i had set a minimum capital requirement for internationally active banks. the minimum ratio of regulatory capital to total risk - weighted assets was set at 8 per cent of which the ‘ core capital ’, a restrictive definition of eligible capital labelled as tier i capital, stood at 4 per cent. it was designed to be implemented by the members of the bcbs by 1992, only four years after it was agreed. basel i was amended in 1996 to take into account market risks in banks ’ trading books, whereby an additional capital charge was introduced to cover market risk. although basel i was meant for implementation by members of the bcbs, many non - member countries with internationally active banks also started implementing the basel standards. basel i had weaknesses. it did not differentiate enough the risks associated with individual loans, thus providing banks with opportunities for regulatory arbitrage. basel i, overlooking operational risk, focused on credit and market risk only. these deficiencies demanded an improvement in the basel standards. after years of intense debates and negotiations, basel ii was finally agreed in 2004. while leaving some

for a world without libor either, leaving borrowers and lenders alike exposed to serious uncertainty and the risk of a disorderly outcome. where those contracts are expected to remain outstanding, the best chance of avoiding those risks lies in active conversion to another rate before the end of 2021. for sterling, the industry - led working group has strongly encouraged all market participants to complete, by the end of next march, a full assessment of their libor contracts extending beyond the end of 2021. the aim is to identify those that can be actively converted, and to put plans in place to complete those conversions wherever viable by the end of next september. this advice is echoed more broadly by the fsb in its global transition roadmap. 11 if you haven ’ t done so already, you should be making a start on that assessment. to stand a chance of controlling your destiny, you need to know what your exposures are, and how you ’ re going to deal with them over the course of next year. make and resource those plans now – we don ’ t want anyone to be caught out. and the regulators will be watching closely. conclusion retirements always seem far off, until they ’ re not. libor is no different. what once seemed a distant prospect is now very real. one by one the remaining areas of uncertainty are closing. now there ’ s just a year left for all market participants to get three key things done : - first, move all your new business off libor as soon as possible next year – and by the end of march for sterling ; - second, sign the isda protocol or make firm alternative plans ; and - third, work hard to convert any remaining legacy contracts away from libor. https : / / www. fsb. org / 2020 / 10 / global - transition - roadmap - for - libor / all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches and @ boe _ pressoffice to have got to this point is a quite remarkable achievement by everyone involved. working together, it ’ s time for one last push before we bid libor farewell for good. thank you. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches and @ boe _ pressoffice