Leverage ratio out of reach for some banks

Seventeen of the world's larger banks "would not meet the three per cent tier one leverage ratio level," an assessment by the Bank for International Settlements has found.

This includes seven "Group 1" (internationally active banks) and ten "Group 2" banks.

The BIS named none of the culprits.

In all, Group 1 banks lifted their leverage ratio to 4.6 per cent at the end of 2014. For G-SIBS this ratio was 4.5 per cent. Group 2 banks came in at 5.6 per cent.

These ratios advanced 1.2 per cent to 1.3 per cent across all three categories over three and a half years from 2011.