Disclosure policy and international banking

Abstract

We develop general principles to guide the compulsory public disclosure of information about the financial condition of banks and apply these principles to three issues of particular relevance in international banking: (1) the disclosure of the country risk exposure of individual banks, (2) the rationale for hidden reserves, and (3) the disclosure of information regarding the availability to individual banks of emergency liquidity assistance. Our analysis shows why disclosure standards vary from country to country and why disclosure standards in the U.S. go well beyond the requirements elsewhere.