The controversy on the value and wisdom of FAS 157 has recently heightened in intensity with an article in The Deal by William Isaac, attacking the current concept of mark-to-market accounting as unsound, at least as applied to financial institutions such as commercial banks. Isaac speaks with significant authority since he was chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation during one of several periods in which problems with financial institutions had a ripple effect on the economy; in fact, Isaac is probably the best known FDIC chair in my professional career. Herewith excerpts from Isaac’s short but hard hitting piece...
Article (DOC)