http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fairvalue.htm changes and explaining the reasons for the changes. Disclosure of Fair value would provide transparency without forcing institutions into insolvency based on short term market swings and accounting rules that do not reflect true value, but instead reflect panic pricing. The reality is that mark-to-market has led economy into a downward spiral. With each forced liquidation every institution holding that security has to take further write-downs irrespective of the underlying cash flows associated with the security. This is an undeniable empirical fact. At no time in history would our banking system been able to withstand mark-to-market accounting at a time of system wide forced liquidations. When there is an extreme imbalance between buyers and sellers, underlying cash flows and asset values are not reflected in the market price.
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