Regulators ease Basel leverage ratio requirements.

The Basel Committee for Banking Supervision has eased the way banks will have to report leverage ratios, or the amount of capital they hold against their loans and other assets. The regulations will not force banks to count 100% of their off-balance-sheet assets, such as much of their exposure to derivatives, and guarantees and letters of credit. The news helped boost bank stocks in Europe, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Banks index +1.4% at the time of writing.