FASB to Delay Controversial Guidance

Officials have proposed to delay implementation of controversial proposed accounting guidance for interest-rate-impaired securities, according to the webcast of a Financial Accounting Standards Board meeting held Sept. 8.A number of mortgage and bond market participants had been concerned about certain aspects of the guidance and said they saw the delay as a relatively favorable development. "We believe this is an appropriate interim result that is consistent with recommendations we and other financial industry organizations submitted … and think it will avoid unnecessary dislocations throughout the debt markets that might have resulted from more immediate application of these provisions," said The Bond Market Association in a statement released in conjunction with its affiliates, the Asset Managers Forum and the American Securitization Forum. The Financial Accounting Standards Board can be found online at http://www.fasb.org, and The Bond Market Association can be found at http://www.bondmarkets.com.