After 5 years of arduous work the Basel II will be published on 26th June. The accord lays down guidelines on how banks should set aside capital to cover risks.

On numerous occasions the accord was under stress because of national regulators attitudes to capital adequacy rules. This has lead to several drafts. Indeed it has still not been agreed if there is to be a single stage transformation at the end of 2006 or if there is to be a two stage process.

The Basel Committee is under the auspices of the Bank for International Settlements and is responsible for the guidelines. The launch will be a large media event attended by European Central Bank President, Jean-Claude Trichet.