To respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and financial markets, the FSC has asked banks to take steps to assist individuals and enterprises that have been adversely affected by the pandemic. To ensure that domestic banks are able to take active part in the government''s various economic relief measures, continue enhancing the function of financial intermediaries, and provide credits to the market, the FSC continues to take the following actions:

1.One-year deferral in implementation of the Basel III final rule:

(1)In line with the recent action by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FSC recently adjusted the timetable for implementation of the Basel III final rule. To keep in step with the rest of the world, the FSC has set a target of 2023 for implementation of the final rule. With regard to the Real Estate Exposures on the basis of the Loan-to-Value Ratio under the Standardized Approach for Credit Risk, the tentative implementation date was delayed by one year to June of 2021.

(2)The requirements of the 2% banks’ internal capital buffer and the contingency plans for business crisis on the D-SIBs were also postponed by one year.

2.Principles for assessment and handling of expected credit losses (ECLs) on relief loans and other credit assets: To ensure that banks are on the same basis in measuring the ECLs of relief loans under the IFRS 9, the FSC, with reference to the principles interpreted by the BCBS and the IASB, is cooperating with the Banking Association to collect opinions from banks and will issue the FAQs on the classification and the ECL measurement of relief loans.