Concern about banks' disclosures in Europe
08 Apr 2008
At a hearing conducted by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, Kerstin af Jochnick, Chair of the Committee of European Banking Supervisors Expressed Some Concerns about current financial statement disclosures by European banks:
We are concerned that the lack of disclosure on banks' business models and on their role in structured finance activities could make it difficult for market participants to properly assess the banks' risk profile. While the coming into force of the Pillar 3 requirements of the CRD [EU Capital Requirements Directive] and of new accounting disclosure requirements (IFRS 7) should contribute to the quality, granularity and comparability in the disclosure of exposures, the disclosures seem in many cases to be aimed at banks' immediate stakeholders – i.e. at their shareholders – and not so much at market participants in the wider sense. It may be necessary for banks to reconsider their disclosure policies and the principle they build on, especially in times of stress.
Click to view Hearing at the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (PDF 40k).
