About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Blogs

European Union Ministers Call for Convergence with US on Accounting Standards

Subscribe to our newsletter

Following the move in the US to relax mark to market accounting rules, representatives from the European Union have called for greater convergence between Europe and the US in order to level the playing field. EU politicians including Italy’s Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti and French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde are concerned that the region’s banks may be put at a disadvantage if the same rules do not apply in all jurisdictions.

Accordingly, the politicians have charged the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to work with the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on eradicating differences between the application of accounting rules. The proposals were tabled at a meeting in Prague this weekend and Tremonti commented: “If it was up to me to decide, I would just download the US text with Google and adopt it with a European blessing.”

Lagarde added: “We need to arrive at a level playing field on this matter. We need to stress to the IASB the urgency to examine accounting principles, in particular those concerning the valuation of illiquid assets.”

The FASB voted on the final amendments to mark to market standards last week and approved changes that give more leeway to financial institutions when valuing hard to value assets in illiquid markets. European Union representatives are keen for a Europe-wide decision be made soon in order to bring the region’s accounting rules in line with these changes.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Recorded Webinar: Mastering Data Lineage for Risk, Compliance, and AI Governance

Financial institutions are under increasing pressure to ensure data transparency, regulatory compliance, and AI governance. Yet many struggle with fragmented data landscapes, poor lineage tracking and compliance gaps. This webinar will explore how enterprise-grade data lineage can help capital markets participants ensure regulatory compliance with obligations such as BCBS 239, CCAR, IFRS 9, SEC requirements...

BLOG

Data Usage Rights Patent is Music to the Ears of VendEx Boss

Richard Clements has a talent for explaining highly technical concepts in ways that make them sound as easy as listening to your favourite song. Which is apt, considering that the chief executive of VendEx, a vendor and data cataloguing technology provider, explains his company’s latest innovation with a guitar perched on a stand beside him....

EVENT

RegTech Summit New York

Now in its 9th year, the RegTech Summit in New York will bring together the RegTech ecosystem to explore how the North American capital markets financial industry can leverage technology to drive innovation, cut costs and support regulatory change.

GUIDE

AI in Capital Markets: Practical Insight for a Transforming Industry – Free Handbook

AI is no longer on the horizon – it’s embedded in the infrastructure of modern capital markets. But separating real impact from inflated promises requires a grounded, practical understanding. The AI in Capital Markets Handbook 2025 provides exactly that. Designed for data-driven professionals across the trade life-cycle, compliance, infrastructure, and strategy, this handbook goes beyond...