A report from Accenture suggests Canadian banks are more on the ball than their American counterparts when it comes to regulatory compliance, particularly as it applies to the Basel II, a framework for assessing exposure to risk and loan defaults. Banks must be compliant by 2007.
“Fundamentally, Canada is doing pretty well in terms of responding to the compliance needs,” said Gary Fink, a managing partner, with Accenture. “They’re clearly ahead of the U.S. I would say at least three to six months.” There’s so much regulation around banking, it’s almost impossible for banks to meet all the criteria, says Hari Venkatacharya, CEO of consulting firm Cyrca Solutions Ltd. He estimates that there are about 15,000 banking regulations in the U.S. alone. “The question is how do you look at the high points of each of regulations and come up with strategies and implementation plans to ensure that you’re complying in an umbrella fashion?”