Bloomberg reported global central bank chiefs gave lenders four more years to meet international liquidity requirements and watered down the measures in a bid to stave off another credit crunch.

According to the report, banks won the delay to fully meet the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) following a deal struck by regulatory chiefs meeting on Sunday in Basel, Switzerland. Banks will now be able to pick from a longer list of approved assets including equities and securitized mortgage debt.

Banks and top officials such as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pushed for changes to the LCR, arguing that it would choke interbank lending and make it harder for authorities to implement monetary policies. Lenders have warned that the measure might force them to cut back loans to businesses and households.

As reported, the under the deal announce yesterday, banks would only have to meet 60% of the LCR obligations by 2015, and the full rule would be phased in annually through 2019, according to an e-mailed statement from the GHOS.