Global banking regulators said the world's top banks would have needed an extra 208 billion euros (178.5 billion pounds) had the new Basel III bank capital rules been in force in June 2012.

The capital rules are being phased in over six years from January 2013 and the Basel Committee, which drafted the rules known as Basel III, published on Tuesday its latest survey of how banks were building up their capital buffers.

It said the shortfall at the 101 biggest banks was 176 billion lower than in its previous study in December 2011.

(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Kirstin Ridley)