EU finance chiefs fret over US accounting relaxation
EU finance chiefs voiced concern on Friday at a recent move by the US accounting industry to relax the way US banks book losses over fears the change will put European rivals at a disadvantage.
Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said finance ministers and central bank governors had "a very lively discussion" about the accounting change, adopted to help struggling banks cope with a global slump which has caused them massive losses.
"Some member states expressed clear fears about the differences between our approaches in Europe and the US," Kalousek said after chairing a meeting of finance chiefs in Prague.
Under pressure from the US Congress, the US Financial Accounting Standards Board voted on Thursday to modify the "mark-to-market" accounting standard, which has been blamed by some for worsening the global financial crisis.
The change will allow banks to hold some toxic assets to give them more time to recover in conditions where financial markets are frozen, rather than regularly marking their prices down to currently depressed market prices.
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