More than 60 senior bankers from 30 leading financial institutions from Bahrain will meet today to receive a briefing on new financial banking principles, known as Basel III, designed to stabilise the global financial system.

Hosted by KPMG, the global audit, tax and advisory firm, the seminar, to be held at Gulf Hotel, will focus on the recently-released Basel III Regulations and its impact on financial organisations. Delegates at the seminar will receive a briefing from a number of speakers, including KPMG head of risk - Bahrain Peter Kohut.

"Bankers are asking us about the relevance of Basel III in Bahrain, how the new rules will impact local banks' capital position and what the implications are for risk management, finance or financial systems," said Kohut.

"The typical headline elements of Basel III on the new capital requirements, which are most relevant for European or American banks, appear to be of limited impact for local banks.

"However, there are still a number of less talked about items as well as some important indirect or second order effects of Basel III which regional banks should consider," he said.

"Aside from the obvious need to improve capital and liquidity management, regional banks will need to consider more than before whether their strategic, business and product specific decisions take sufficient account of the inherent uncertainties and opportunities caused by the increasing dynamic complexities of the financial markets," he added.

The seminar will discuss how financial institutions around the world are preparing to address the requirements of the new regulation and whether this will lead to safer banking and more resilient financial systems.-TradeArabia News Service