Did fair-value accounting contribute to the financial crisis?
- The recent financial crisis has led to a major debate about fair-value accounting. Many critics have argued that fair-value accounting, often also called mark-to-market accounting, has significantly contributed to the financial crisis or, at least, exacerbated its severity. In this paper, we assess these arguments and examine the role of fair-value accounting in the financial crisis using descriptive data and empirical evidence. Based on our analysis, it is unlikely that fair-value accounting added to the severity of the current financial crisis in a major way. While there may have been downward spirals or asset-fire sales in certain markets, we find little evidence that these effects are the result of fair-value accounting. We also find little support for claims that fair-value accounting leads to excessive write-downs of banks’ assets. If anything, empirical evidence to date points in the opposite direction, that is, towards overvaluation of bank assets.
Verfasserangaben: | Christian LauxORCiDGND, Christian LeuzORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-72719 |
Titel des übergeordneten Werkes (Deutsch): | Center for Financial Studies (Frankfurt am Main): CFS working paper series ; No. 2009,22 |
Schriftenreihe (Bandnummer): | CFS working paper series (2009, 22) |
Dokumentart: | Arbeitspapier |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Jahr der Fertigstellung: | 2009 |
Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung: | 2009 |
Veröffentlichende Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Datum der Freischaltung: | 02.12.2009 |
Freies Schlagwort / Tag: | Banks; Contagion; Financial Crisis; Financial Institutions; Financial Regulation; Liquidity; Mark-to-Market Accounting; Procyclicality |
GND-Schlagwort: | Tageswert; Buchführung; Bilanz; Finanzkrise |
HeBIS-PPN: | 220218897 |
Institute: | Wirtschaftswissenschaften / Wirtschaftswissenschaften |
Wissenschaftliche Zentren und koordinierte Programme / Center for Financial Studies (CFS) | |
DDC-Klassifikation: | 3 Sozialwissenschaften / 33 Wirtschaft / 330 Wirtschaft |
Lizenz (Deutsch): | Deutsches Urheberrecht |