The economic consequences of extending the use of fair value accounting in regulatory capital calculations: A discussion

When the Federal Reserve, following Basel III, proposed removing the accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) filter that shields regulatory capital from unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale (AFS) debt securities, it triggered fierce opposition. The topic is at the heart of the debate about the role of fair value accounting for financial stability. Chircop and Novotny-Farkas (2016) investigate banks' stock price reaction and investment behavior around news events up to the announcement of the final decision. I focus on the question of whether their evidence is sufficiently strong to convince either side in the debate.