The Financial Stability Board (FSB) welcomes the publication of the progress report by the Enhanced Disclosure Task Force (EDTF) on the level and quality of the implementation oftheir report ‘Enhancing the Risk Disclosures of Banks’ in major banks’ 2012 annual reports. The EDTF’s principles and recommendations for improved bank risk disclosures and leading disclosure practices are designed to provide timely information useful to investors and other users, which can contribute, over time, to improved market confidence in financial institutions. The FSB views the principles and recommendations as a valuable step to improve the quality of risk disclosures.
The survey results demonstrate that the recommendations are beginning to make a positive impact on the reporting practices of global banks. The banks’ self-assessment is that they have implemented 50% of the EDTF Recommendations in aggregate in 2012 disclosures, which is a considerable increase from 34% in 2011; and they expect to implement 72% of the Recommendations within their 2013 disclosures. The investors and analysts within the EDTF undertook a further review of the disclosures, which indicated a lower degree of implementation than banks’ self-assessment, particularly for recommendations where they expect more granular, quantitative disclosures. Both banks and investors and analysts in the EDTF see the opportunity to engage over the coming year to discuss the recommendations for further enhancing risk disclosures for the 2013 reporting cycle.
The FSB encourages banks to continue to strive to improve risk disclosures, and calls on supervisory authorities to take steps to foster awareness of the EDTF Principles and Recommendations by banks and markets in their national jurisdictions.Investorsand analysts in the EDTF noted thatthe improvements in transparency and comparability of risk disclosures that are being seen as a result of implementation of the EDTF report are fostering greater confidence in banks’ reporting by investors and other stakeholders. This both increases banks’ ability to access capital when needed, and enhances market discipline.The FSB will ask the EDTF to undertake another survey in 2014 of the level and quality of implementation in 2013 annual reports.
The EDTF was formed in 2012 at the initiative of the FSB. The task force represents a unique private sector initiative – one that brings together on a global basis, senior officials and experts from financial institutions, investors and analysts, and audit firms – to develop recommendations for enhancing risk disclosure practices by major banks starting with end-year 2012 annual risk disclosures and continuing into 2013 and beyond.