The paper finds that the four major Australian banks have capital well about the regulatory requirements with high quality capital. While their headline capital ratios are below the global average for large banks in a sample of advanced and emerging market economies, Australia’s more conservative approach in implementing the Basel II framework implies that Australian banks’ headline capital ratios underestimate their capital strength. For example, a comparison with Canadian banks highlights the impact of Australia’s more conservative approach. The four major Australian banks are well-positioned to meet the higher capital requirements under Basel III, and with the improvements in their.
