Who Influences Global Banking Standards? A Quantitative Analysis of Basel III

This paper seeks to shed light on the most recent global standard for banking regulation - the so-called Basel III accord - by answering two interrelated questions: Are there any divergence in stakeholders’ preferences on global banking standards? What determines the success of stakeholders in influencing such standards? Answers are sought by analysing a dataset of coded responses received in the main Basel III consultation round. Although this method cannot fully capture all efforts to influence regulation in all stages of the reform process, the results offers important new insights. While the results largely support claims that private and financial sector stakeholders are more able to influence regulatory processes and outcomes to their benefits, this paper reveals differences between stakeholders depending on their location in types of economies, financial systems and economic sectors. One important finding, which goes against much of the related literature, is that stakeholders located in advanced economies, BCBS membership jurisdictions or financial centres do not appear to be more able to influence global banking standards. A main contribution of this paper is to offer empirical insights on properties of the international political economy in banking and finance that are commonly assumed but less often empirically investigated