--- title: "Bank 'risk transfer' boom needs close monitoring, Basel Committee warns" description: "The Basel Committee warns that the increasing use of synthetic risk transfers (SRTs) by banks to manage credit risk requires close monitoring due to potential vulnerabilities in the financial system. " type: "news" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/276160319.md" published_at: "2026-02-17T19:23:31.000Z" --- # Bank 'risk transfer' boom needs close monitoring, Basel Committee warns > The Basel Committee warns that the increasing use of synthetic risk transfers (SRTs) by banks to manage credit risk requires close monitoring due to potential vulnerabilities in the financial system. SRT transactions have tripled in the EU from 2016 to 2024, raising concerns about reliance on non-bank intermediaries and shadow banking risks. The report highlights the need for greater transparency and supervision as the growth of SRTs could exacerbate economic downturns and stress in the non-financial sector. Key points: - SRTs popular in EU, transactions more than tripled 2016-2024, says banking regulators' report - Warns that heavy reliance on SRTs exposes banks to 'shadow banking' risks - Regulators concerned about transparency issues in non-bank industry By Tommy Reggiori Wilkes Banks are increasingly turning to bespoke deals with private investment funds to shed credit risk, but the market needs close monitoring as it spawns new vulnerabilities for the global financial system, the world's forum for banking regulators said. These "synthetic risk transfers" (SRTs) involve a bank selling all or part of the credit risk of a group of assets to investors such as hedge or pension funds. They allow banks to free up capital while maintaining their client relationships. SRTs are not new, but they have proven particularly popular in the European Union, with new transactions more than tripling between 2016 and 2024 after EU regulatory changes provided some synthetic securitisations preferential prudential treatment, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said in a report on Tuesday. U.S. volumes have also jumped following regulatory clarity in 2023 on how the deals are treated under bank capital requirements, added the committee, which is made up of banking regulators and central bankers from the G20 economies and other countries. Among European banks, Britain's Barclays , Austria's BAWAG and Greece's Alpha are the heaviest users of SRTs relative to the size of their corporate loan books - with the average listed lender using them to cover about 12% of those loans, the report said. WORRY OVER 'SHADOW BANKING' TIES The committee said SRTs help banks boost lending that is subject to lower capital requirements but warned that heavy reliance on them left lenders exposed to the health of non-financial intermediaries buying the risk. If those investors falter, this could affect the flow of credit. "A contraction in credit caused by a protracted freeze in SRT markets could exacerbate an economic downturn and increase stress in the non-financial sector, possibly triggering an adverse deleveraging feedback loop," the committee wrote in the report. Regulators globally are concerned about the growth of non-bank intermediaries involved in what is often referred to as 'shadow banking', because of a lack of transparency and the possibility of new risks that could endanger broader financial stability. The committee's report also highlighted risks over growing links between banks and non-banks - because banks often finance the very investors buying the credit risk - as well as opaque individual deals and weakening underwriting standards. While some of these risks are being monitored and addressed, the committee said closer supervision was needed as further growth of the SRT market could multiply the risks. ### Related Stocks - [EUFN.US - iShares MSCI EUR Financial Sector Index](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/EUFN.US.md) - [FNCL.US - Fidelity MSCI Financials Index](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FNCL.US.md) - [VFH.US - VG Financial](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VFH.US.md) - [IEUS.US - iShares MSCI Europe Small Cap](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IEUS.US.md) - [EUN.UK - iShares STOXX Europe 50 UCITS ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/EUN.UK.md) - [DJSC.UK - iShares EURO STOXX Small UCITS ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DJSC.UK.md) - [PBEU.US - Portfolio Building Block Eur Bks Idx ETF](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PBEU.US.md) - [IEUR.US - ishares Core Msci Europe](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IEUR.US.md) ## Related News & Research | Title | Description | URL | |-------|-------------|-----| | 别为美最高法推翻特朗普关税高兴太早？华尔街预计市场反应或昙花一现 | 美国股债汇波动相对温和的一个重要原因是，预测市场此前已倾向于这一裁决结果，且特朗普随后表示已有备用方案。虽然特朗普至少有五种替代的法律工具重新征收关税，但无论采取何种方式，都将对长期美债的收益率构成上行压力。 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276487370.md) | | 本周，“AI 颠覆一切” 的狼终于来了 | 市场对 AI 颠覆风险的认知加速上升，摩根士丹利最新研报指出，MSCI 欧洲指数中面临 AI 颠覆风险的权重已从 4% 升至 24%。随着 AI 模型能力的突破，投资者需重新审视资产配置，关注公用事业、半导体等防御性行业。报告强调，未来的价 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275973130.md) | | 美财政部让步，拟修订主权财富基金税收提案，此前遭私募业警告 | 美国财政部正就一项针对主权财富基金和公共养老基金征税方式进行全面改革的提案作出让步。相关提案此前由美国国税局提出，拟更新税法第 892 条，将这些基金持有的多数美国债务投资归为商业活动，这将令其面临被征税的风险。此前，私募信贷和私募股权公司 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276491732.md) | | 库伦佛寺银行公司 $CFR 的股票头寸被 Assetmark Inc. 提升 | Assetmark Inc. 在第三季度大幅增加了对库伦佛寺银行的持股，增幅达到 23,543.6%，目前持有 9,221 股，价值 1,169,000 美元。其他机构投资者也提高了他们的持股。内部人士进行了股票出售，部分高管最近出售了股份 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276508313.md) | | 投资者对富国银行的真实感受究竟如何？ | 富国银行的空头头寸减少了 4.59%，目前有 3200 万股被卖空，占可用股份的 1.04%。交易者平均需要 1.75 天来平仓这些头寸。空头头寸反映市场情绪；减少表明更乐观的前景。与同行相比，富国银行的空头头寸比例为 1.04%，高于同行 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276372822.md) | --- > **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.