This paper examines banks' disclosures and loss recognition in the financial crisis and identifies several core issues for the link between accounting and financial stability. Our analysis suggests that, going into the financial crisis, banks' disclosures about relevant risk exposures were...

At the peak of the financial crisis in October 2008, the IASB amended IAS 39 to grant companies the option of abandoning fair value recognition for selected financial assets. Using a comprehensive global sample of publicly listed IFRS banks, we find that banks use the reclassification option to...

Much attention has been paid to the large decreases in value of non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) during the financial crisis. Many observers have argued that the fall in prices was partly caused by fire sales. We use capital requirements and accounting rules to identify...

Many observers have argued that the fall in RMBS prices during the crisis was partly caused by fire sales. We provide an explanation for why financial institutions may have engaged in fire sales using a unique dataset of RMBS transactions for insurance companies. We show that risk-sensitive...

This paper investigates factors associated with high quality Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) programs in financial services firms, and whether ERM quality enhances performance and signals credibility to the financial markets. ERM, developed with the assistance of the accounting profession,...

The current financial crisis has revived the debate surrounding fair value accounting especially in the case of illiquid markets and for assets that lack marketability. Many analysts argue that it was issuance of FASB 157 (ASC 820) and the use of fair value accounting that caused the financial...

In light of the financial meltdown that followed the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2008, there is considerable debate in the financial community on the appropriate accounting methodology used to value financial assets. In fact, many analysts on Wall Street argue that much of the...

Banks and other financial companies use securitization to redistribute risk and increase liquidity by pooling and selling assets. This paper reviews the typical set-up of a securitization and its potential benefits and risks, including the tendency to concentrate risk in positions retained by...

The paper investigates the role of CEO's equity and risk incentives in boosting securitization in the financial industry and in motivating executives to reduce the perceived risk while betting on it. Using a sample of US financial institutions over the period 2003-2009 we document that CEOs with...

This study examines the sources of credit risk associated with asset securitizations and whether credit rating agencies and the bond market differ in their assessment of this risk. Measuring credit risk using credit ratings, we find the securitizing firm's credit risk is positively related to...