Mortgage lenders fret over FASB hedging proposals

Banks and derivatives end-users worry they will find it harder to hedge if a bumper package of US accounting reform proposals is implemented. The exposure draft, published on May 26, is the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) first attempt to rewrite the rules for financial instruments, and touches on a host of topics that are close to the banking industry’s heart. The proposals on hedge accounting are prompting squawks of alarm from mortgage lenders in particular.