“It is not very sensible to run a market economy on the basis of a banking system that is 33 times leveraged, let alone 40 or 50 times leveraged,” Sir John [Sir John Vickers, Oxford academic who chaired the Independent Commission on Banking] told the Financial Times. He believes the right number is closer to 10 times, equivalent to a 10 per cent ratio.
That is a lot higher than the 3 per cent (33 times leverage) required by Basel III and the 4.1% (CBA) to 4.5% (WBC) of the big four Australian banks.
Read more at Vickers calls for doubling of bank capital levels – FT.com.