These new rules which are far stricter on capital and liquidity come from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), and are known as the Basel III accords.

FORBES: Basel Barriers: How capital requirements would impede progress in the sovereign debt crisis

There are currently three accords, Basel I, Basel II, and Basel III being the most recent and pertinent, the latter being agreed upon following the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

FORBES: Basel Barriers: How capital requirements would impede progress in the sovereign debt crisis