Under Article 22n paragraph 1 of the Austrian Banking Act, all positions in fi nancial instruments and commodities held for trading purposes are to be assigned to the trading book. Likewise, fi nancial instruments and commodi- ties used to hedge or refi nance specifi c risks in the trading book are also to be assigned to the trading book. To cover the market risks arising from the trading book, credit institutions must retain a minimum amount of capital, as was already laid down in the Basel paper on market risk entitled “Amendment to the Capital Accord to Incorporate Market Risks”.
