At today’s joint board meeting, the FASB and IASB began redeliberations to consider feedback received on their joint exposure draft (ED).¹

The boards’ staffs provided a summary of feedback received from comment letters, public roundtables, and other outreach efforts. The feedback indicated mixed views on the ED’s proposals; however, while there was no clear consensus favoring gross or net presentation, most respondents supported the boards’ efforts to reach a converged solution given the significant quantitative presentation differences that arise from the different offsetting requirements under U.S. GAAP and IFRSs.

In their discussions, the boards indicated that before deciding how to move forward with the project, they would like to further address two areas of concern about the ED frequently cited by respondents. Specifically, they want to gain a better understanding of (1) the simultaneous settlement criterion and its application to exchange cleared transactions and (2) different types of collateral arrangements.

These issues will be discussed in greater detail at a future education session. The boards will also continue their redeliberations on the ED at subsequent board meetings.

[1] Exposure Draft, Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. See also Deloitte’s February 2, 2011, Heads Up on the boards’ balance sheet offsetting proposals.