The implementation date of the Basel III standards has been deferred by one year to January 1, 2023.

Basel III is a set of tougher rules on banks aimed at preventing a global financial crisis. 

The Bank of Korea(BOK) announced on Monday that the Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision(GHOS) agreed to defer the implementation of Basel III to increase operational capacity of banks and supervisors to respond to COVID-19. 

GHOS is the top decision-making body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision(BCBS).  

Initially, the BCBS had finalized the Basel III standards in December 2017 and had set January 1, 2022 as the implementation date.  

The BOK said the deferral is expected to ease domestic banks’ burdens on implementing regulations, thus boosting financial services’ support toward tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.