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Should financial institutions mark-to-market?

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  • Allen, F.
  • Carletti, E.

Abstract

There has been a spirited debate about the merits of mark-to-market accounting for financial institutions for some time now. Many argue that market prices provide the best estimate of value available and should always be used. However, others suggest that in times of crisis market prices are not a good reflection of value and their use can lead to serious distortions. This article explains the circumstances where market prices do reflect future earning power and those where market imperfections imply that they do not. We suggest that in financial crisis situations where liquidity is scarce and prices are low as a result, market prices should be supplemented with both model-based and historic cost valuations. The rest of the time and in particular when asset prices are low because expectations of future cash flows have fallen, mark-to-market accounting should instead be used.

Suggested Citation

  • Allen, F. & Carletti, E., 2008. "Should financial institutions mark-to-market?," Financial Stability Review, Banque de France, issue 12, pages 1-6, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bfr:fisrev:2008:12:1
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Itamar Drechsler & Alexi Savov & Philipp Schnabl, 2021. "Banking on Deposits: Maturity Transformation without Interest Rate Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(3), pages 1091-1143, June.
    2. Jean Tirole, 2011. "Illiquidity and All Its Friends," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(2), pages 287-325, June.
    3. Athanasoglou, Panayiotis P. & Daniilidis, Ioannis & Delis, Manthos D., 2014. "Bank procyclicality and output: Issues and policies," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 58-83.
    4. Palea, Vera, 2014. "Financial Reporting for Varieties of Capitalism: The Case Against a Single Set of International Financial Reporting Standards," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201442, University of Turin.
    5. Xisong Jin, 2018. "How much does book value data tell us about systemic risk and its interactions with the macroeconomy? A Luxembourg empirical evaluation," BCL working papers 118, Central Bank of Luxembourg.
    6. Franklin Allen & Elena Carletti, 2010. "An Overview of the Crisis: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions-super-," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 10(s1), pages 1-26.
    7. Palea, Vera & Biancone, Paolo Pietro, 2017. "Which Accounting Rules for Economic and Social Sustainable Development? Engaging Critically with IFRS Adoption in the EU," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201733, University of Turin.
    8. Franklin Allen & Elena Carletti, 2011. "The Global Financial Crisis," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Luis Felipe Céspedes & Roberto Chang & Diego Saravia (ed.),Monetary Policy under Financial Turbulence, edition 1, volume 16, chapter 2, pages 023-047, Central Bank of Chile.
    9. Palea, Vera, 2015. "Journal Rankings and the Sustainability of Diversity in Accounting Research," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201546, University of Turin.
    10. Bartram, Söhnke M. & Bodnar, Gordon M., 2009. "No place to hide: The global crisis in equity markets in 2008/2009," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(8), pages 1246-1292, December.
    11. Lorenzo Sasso, 2016. "Bank Capital Structure and Financial Innovation: Antagonists or Two Sides of the Same Coin?," Journal of Financial Regulation, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 225-263.
    12. Franklin Allen & Elena Carletti, 2010. "Financial Regulation Going Forward," IMES Discussion Paper Series 10-E-18, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan.
    13. Del Gaudio, Belinda L. & Megaravalli, Amith V. & Sampagnaro, Gabriele & Verdoliva, Vincenzo, 2020. "Mandatory disclosure tone and bank risk-taking: Evidence from Europe," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    14. Palea, Vera, 2013. "The Politics of Fair Value Reporting and the Governance of the Standards-Setting Process: Critical Issues and Pitfalls from a European Perspective," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201353, University of Turin.
    15. Roggi, Oliviero & Giannozzi, Alessandro, 2015. "Fair value disclosure, liquidity risk and stock returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 327-342.
    16. Palea, Vera, 2017. "Whither accounting research? A European view," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 59-73.
    17. Panayiotis P. Athanasoglou & Ioannis Daniilidis, 2011. "Procyclicality in the banking industry: causes, consequences and response," Working Papers 139, Bank of Greece.
    18. Palea, Vera, 2015. "The political economy of fair value reporting and the governance of the standards-setting process: Critical issues and pitfalls from a continental European union perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 1-15.

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