Basel III regulatory framework an important macroprudential instrument: a countercyclical capital buffer. This instrument is designed to reduce the consequences of worsened access of firms and households to banking credit in bad times. This paper proposes the approach to the countercyclical capital buffer using the experience of the Czech National Bank. It describes its decision-making process from assessing the position of the economy in the financial cycle through to setting the buffer rate. The approach that can be labelled discretion guided by multiple-factor analysis builds upon the signals from both individual and composite indicators of financial cycle and systemic risk. The paper then describes the factors that the macroprudential authority takes into account when setting the specific countercyclical capital buffer rate.