Basel III delay a second chance for the loan market

Loan bankers might have breathed a sigh of relief at the weekend on hearing that the implementation of Basel III is going to take longer than first thought. But the delay merely represents a stay of execution for the undrawn revolving credit — a crucial part of a company’s funding toolbox — unless the loan markets’ leading figures can use the extra time to lobby the committee’s members into changing key elements of the new regulations, most critically the controversial requirement to maintain liquid assets to cover companies’ liquidity facilities.