The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has released a report on Bank Reporting:
In line with a commitment given in the ‘Report on banks’ transparency on activities and products affected by the recent market turmoil’ published on 18 June 2008, CEBS has carried out a follow-up review of banks’ half year disclosures as of 30 June 2008.
The good practices identified in the 18 June report cover disclosures of the impact of the market turmoil on results and on exposures – these areas are in line with the recommendations of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) – and also information on business models, risk management practices, accounting and valuation practices.
CEBS is of the view that for the 22 large banks – 19 of which originate from the EU – covered by the analysis, the disclosures on the impact of the market turmoil and on exposure levels have improved since the last assessment. In particular improvements have been observed with regard to the levels of details of the information. For these areas, the disclosures are considered to be in line with the good practices identified in the June report .
Differences in disclosures between the banks included in the analysis are considered to be commensurate with the varying levels of their involvement in the activities under consideration.
By contrast, disclosures on business models – and to a lesser extent disclosures on risks and risk management practices – are less detailed and have not improved to the same extent. Some of the institutions analysed have incorporated the CEBS’s good practices for these areas but the majority of institutions included in the sample still have to make efforts to bring their disclosures up to that standard.