Capital Briefs: Analysts Group Urges End to Derivatives Bill

The Boston Securities Analysts Society has urged Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C., to drop legislation that would restrict the Financial Standards Accounting Board's ability to draft new derivatives accounting rules.

Sen. Faircloth's legislation, according to a letter from the society, would "cause jurisdictional disputes among regulators."

The Dec. 12 letter was released Tuesday by FASB and the analysts society.

Sen. Faircloth's bill would require banking regulators to certify that FASB's derivatives standards would not discourage banks from using the financial instruments as risk-management tools.

"We find it difficult to give credence to the complaints of bankers who argue that balance-sheet recogniti on of the market value of derivatives will stifle their use of risk-reduction practices," the society wrote. "In our experience, managers' resistance to disclosure seems to arise when there is something to hide.

"Poor risk management happened, you will recall, when Congress legislated accounting 'relief' for S&Ls, and the debacle that ensued is now infamous in U.S. financial history."

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