MADRID/LONDON — Global regulators are discussing whether to ease an accounting rule to avoid banks facing huge provisions for loans to companies hit by the coronavirus crisis, a source involved in the talks said. The Basel Committee of banking regulators from the world's main financial centers is holding a teleconference on Friday to discuss the rule known as IFRS 9, which is mandatory in the 27 state European Union, Britain and more 100 other countries. "Let's agree to kind of freeze the situation," the source said of the talks. "There is greater concern about potential losses that banks may incur in relation to businesses." Provisions directly affect a bank's profit and loss calculations and eat into its capital buffers, which would then need topping up in difficult market conditions.

Source: International New York Times March 20, 2020 15:22 UTC