Money Morning Mailbag: How Will New Accounting Standards Affect U.S. Banks and Investors?

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) last month proposed an overhaul of accounting standards that would require U.S. banks to record their loans at current market value, giving investors a clearer picture of the banks' financial standing. The proposal is an effort to tighten banking regulation and improve financial transparency, and coincides with Congress finalizing financial reform . News of the possible policy change prompted this reader to weigh in on what its enforcement, which has been pushed back to as late as 2013, could do for the banking industry: "Convergence" between U.S. accounting practices and international accounting practices (from the International Accounting Standards Board) is to be implemented in one year. As part of this convergence, U.S. banks must soon begin to revalue (lower) assets on their books at current market value (mark-to-market).
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