Politicians Accused of Meddling in Bank Rules

[groovedaddy]

Accounting rules did not cause the financial crisis, and they still allow banks to overstate the value of their assets, an international group composed of current and former regulators and corporate officials said in a report to be released Tuesday.

The report, from the Financial Crisis Advisory Group, also deplored successful efforts by politicians to force changes in accounting rules and said that accounting standards should be kept separate from regulatory standards, contrary to the desire of large banks.

“The message to political bodies of ‘Don’t threaten, Don’t coerce’ flies in the face of some of what has been coming from the European Commission and from members of Congress,” said Harvey Goldschmid, a co-chairman of the group and a former member of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The report itself, written by a group that included Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, a former Italian finance minister; Lucas Papademos, a vice president for the European Central Bank, and Michel Prada, a former head of the French stock market regulator, used considerably more diplomatic language.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/business/28account.html?th&emc=th

[DJ13]

1. Financial Crisis Advisory Group

Its a shame they didnt call themselves "Crisis Regulatory Advisory Panel" instead.