The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is recommending in a discussion paper that Australian banks meet the Basel minimum capital requirements by January 2013, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

This would come two years ahead of the 2015 deadline set by global regulators which hiked capital requirements in the form of equity, reserves and retained earnings to prevent the recurrence of a global banking crisis.

The new Basel III regulations require a minimum core or Tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5 per cent and a 2.5 per cent capital buffer on top of the former.

The four largest Australian banks - National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ - currently have core Tier 1 capital ratios under 7 per cent.

The four banks have a total minimum shortfall of $5 billion to meet the Basel III requirements. Including the other large Australian banks, the additional capital requirement would top $15 billion.

To boost their capitals, the banks are expected to go to the equity capital markets and raise $30 billion.

"Compared to the minimum of 7 per cent, the banks are a billion dollar short, you can easily get that between now and then. Over and above that there may be deductions, the regulators will probably insist on buffer and banks may themselves want more," CLSA Asia Pacific banking analyst Brian Johnson told stuff.co.nz.

"ADI (Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions) in Australia are well placed to meet the new minimum capital requirements and APRA is therefore proposing to accelerate aspects of the Basel Committee's timetable," APRA said in a statement.

Due to their profitable operations, Australian banks add up to 50 basis points to their capital yearly, which would allow them to meet the new Basel capital requirements easily.

Singapore, Switzerland and China earlier announced plans to meet the new Basel III capital rules, but most European and American regulators have not yet disclosed their plans.