Difference between basel I and basel II?

Basel I was an international accord to set minimum levels of capital for banks. It was designed to ensure that lenders were sufficiently well capitalized to protect depositors and the financial system.

The first Basel Accord however was replaced by a new accord, Basel II. The new accord was introduced to keep pace with the increased sophistication of lenders' operations and risk management and overcome some of the distortions caused by the lack of risk assessment divisions in Basel I.

Basel I required lenders to calculate a minimum level of capital based on a single risk weight for each of a limited number of asset classes, e.g., mortgages, consumer lending, corporate loans, exposures to sovereigns. Basel II goes well beyond this, allowing some lenders to use their own risk measurement models to calculate required regulatory capital whilst seeking to ensure that lenders establish a culture with risk management at the heart of the organization up to the highest managerial level.