SEC Fuels New Mark-to-Market Conspiracy Theories
Wednesday, April 2, 2008 : PermalinkBloomberg – Once again, the Securities and Exchange Commission is fueling suspicions that it has crafted yet another new accounting loophole for financial institutions trying to avoid big writedowns.
Now for the strange part: The confusion, which centers on how the SEC interprets the rules for mark-to-market accounting, is unnecessary. That’s because, this time, there doesn’t seem to be any such loophole.
The SEC could clarify this point. It refuses to do so, choosing to stay silent when asked where it stands. That, in turn, is fanning concerns that maybe the SEC really is trying to give large banks and insurance companies a free pass. Given the SEC’s recent track record, it’s hard to blame investors for thinking this way.