again I had to go to the foreign media to find this ...
(snip)"Financial Times – July 29 – (Paul J Davies and Joanna Chung): “Banks have been given a one-year reprieve by US accounting standard-setters from having to take up to $5,000bn of debt assets on to their balance sheets, easing fears that they would be forced to raise large amounts of new capital quickly. The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to delay until January 2010 the introduction of rules that will force banks to consolidate more off-balance-sheet vehicles directly in their accounts. However, Robert Herz, FASB chairman, said that the move was made reluctantly after a staff recommendation for a delay because there might not be enough time for all companies to adjust to the up-heaval. ‘It does pain me to allow something that has been abused by certain folks, to let that go on for another year,’ he said.” (snip)
This change in FASB regulations allows the big banks to postpone the writing off additional 'off-balance sheet' debts/losses for another year, thus postponing the necessity of booking these losses in their bottom line. This should be good for a $5 per share 'pop' for Citibank et al. despite the fact that it does nothing to alter the big banks' true economic condition.



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