Capital ratios were, therefore, one of the neuralgic points of bank governance. After years of deadlock, in September 1986 the Fed and the Bank of England reached a deal, which in July 1988 finally brought the Basel Committee to agreement on what was known as the Capital Accord, or Basel I. Henceforth, the minimum level of capital that a large international bank should aim to hold against normal business loans was set at 8 percent.
