April 4 (Bloomberg) -- European Union ministers said it is âcriticalâ that convergence on accounting standards is reached on the continent to ensure that the regionâs banks are not placed at a disadvantage against U.S. competitors. The International Accounting Standards Board, which writes the rules used in Europe, must cooperate with the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board, the ministers said in a statement today following a meeting of European finance ministers and central bankers in Prague. A goal is to avoid âcompetitive distortions,â they said. European lenders may face a disadvantage without changes to mark-to-market rules similar to those decided by the U.S. on April 2. The U.S. move stands to help banks such as Citigroup Inc. report higher profits by easing requirements to recognize fluctuations in the value of investments. Critics of the fair- value rule say it hurts banks by forcing them to book paper losses in the midst of the crisis. âIf it was up to me to decide, I would just download the U.S. text with Google and adopt it with a European blessing,â Italyâs Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti told reporters after the meeting. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said he wants similar accounting principles in Europe as in the U.S. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aElymhLgAaK4&refer=home Cool, how policy adoptions work in Europe... Google it and "adopt" it !
Why not? Just shows you how the only thing that matters is "what's working". Idealogy gets thrown out the door as soon as their backs are against the wall. "M2M is ramping mkts?? cool lets copy that!"