In the absence of quoted prices in active markets, the measurement of fair values is complex and difficult to verify. Prior literature finds that investors discount fair value estimates based on unobservable inputs (i.e., Level 3). However, these value relevance tests cannot discern whether the...

Using an international sample of 222 banks from 41 countries, this study examines whether the fair value option (FVO) affects earnings volatility. Prior empirical studies associate higher levels of earnings volatility with fair value accounting (Barth et al. 1995; Hodder et al. 2006). In contrast, I...

This study examines whether the application of the fair value option (FVO) induces different levels of earnings volatility during the time period from January 2006 until July 2007 using an international sample of 227 banks from 42 countries. Although fair value accounting is generally believed...

Amendment of IAS 39 by the IASB in 2008 provided an option to reclassify investments from fair value to historical cost. Whereas this option was available to all firms, it was particularly relevant to banks. We predict that “too important to fail” (TITF) banks took less advantage of this...

We examine whether fair value re-measurements on illiquid assets convey useful information to investors. Specifically, we investigate the return relevance of unrealized Level 3 fair value gains and losses (FVGL) for a sample of 219 listed U.S. banks from 2008 to 2017. We find that Level 3 FVGL...

Most prior studies attribute valuation discounts on certain fair valued assets to measurement error or bias. We argue that institutional differences across countries (e.g., information environment or market sophistication) affect investors' ability to process and impound fair value information...