"Banks' initial attack on fair value was self-serving. In April the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a lobbying group, sent a confidential memorandum to the two standard-setters. This said it was 'obvious' markets had failed and that companies should be allowed to suspend fair value for 'sound' assets that had suffered 'undue valuation.' Even at the time this stance lacked credibility: Goldman Sachs resigned from the IIF in protest at 'Alice in Wonderland accounting'. To say, it is abundantly clear that those revelations were not a fignment of accountants' imagination. For example, in July Merrill Lynch sold a big structured-credit portfolio at 22% of its face value--less than what was entered on its balance sheet. Bob Hertz, FASB's chairman, argues that fair value is 'essential to provide transparency' for investors", the Economist, 18 September 2008, the link:
The banks' position is laughable. See my 17 July 2008 post, http://skepticaltexascpa.blogspot.com/2008/07/schwartzman-and-mcteer-on-accounting.html.
3 comments:
They want their fraud back. So does our government.
we need more credit dammit!! more credit!! full steam ahead!!
BS:
Who do you think you are, the captain of the Titanic?
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