Estimating the Required Amount of a Bank’s Loss-Absorbing Capacity

The issue of banks’ loss-absorbing capacity (LAC) has been extensively discussed in recent years. That debate was triggered by the idea of a “bail in”: the use of certain bank’s liabilities to cover losses and recapitalization when it is failing or likely to fail. The objective of this article is to determine the volume of a bank’s equity and liabilities available for bail in that would ensure a feasible resolution. To determine that amount, we propose a general quantitative model, considering that the troubled bank must cover its losses (in any resolution path) and restore both its equity and LAC (in the event of recapitalization). One novelty of our approach is that it accounts for the decline in a bank’s size as a result of the resolution process and the time-varying regulatory regime (capital requirements). The approach presented in this article makes it possible to determine the amount of LAC required as well as the importance of capital constraints and buffers, which might play a key role in determining the best resolution path. The calculations based on the model under Basel II and Basel III regimes confirm the importance of the time-varying capital buffers to enhance bank resilience. However, if the losses are large, other regulatory actions are required to increase bank LAC.