EC BANK ACCOUNTS DIRECTIVE (Hansard, 13 June 1990)

§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Trefgarne)

The Department of Trade and Industry intends to issue a consultative document before the Recess inviting comments on draft regulations to implement the EC bank accounts directive. Copies will be placed in the Library.

The directive establishes common rules in relation to the content, valuation methods, audit and publication of the individual and consolidated accounts of banks and other financial institutions.

The consultative document will report on the responses to the consultative document issued on 400WA 31st July 1989, and will explain the decisions which have been taken on the scope of application of the directive and on the way in which the member state options it contains should be exercised. It will also explain that, in the light of the arguments presented in the responses to the consultative document issued last year, and the significant progress which has been made recently in the development of statements of recommended accounting practice (SORPs) and of an international accounting standard aimed at providing fuller disclosure in the accounts of banks and similar financial institutions, the Government have decided not to include in the regulations disclosure requirements which go beyond those in the directive, but to leave the banking industry to develop its own response to the need for fuller disclosure. However, the consultative document will make it clear that, if there is undue delay in the preparation of appropriate SORPs, the option of legislating to impose such requirements will be reconsidered.