Officials from the Financial Accounting Standards Board --- and others that support the independence of the FASB -- have been emphasizing a "decoupling" argument for about a year now, and they have been hitting the theme with new emphasis over the last month, and expect to sing the refrain at greater volume in coming weeks, according to Steve Burkholder, BNA staff correspondent who has been covering FASB for more than a decade.

Steve said he is "getting the word that FASB will be stressing a theme in coming days of `decoupling' - that is, having bank regulators shape their own regulatory accounting requirements, and not tie those to GAAP, with latter's differing purpose."

Steve suggests this new emphasis may be linked to pressure on FASB related to requests for delay of the two new accounting standards on transfers of financial assets and consolidations that start taking effect generally in January 2010. As the standards --- FAS 166, Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets--an amendment of FASB Statement No. 140, and FAS 167, Amendment to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R) -- will impact what is likely to be many billions of dollars in financial assets --including securitized loans -- this pressure is understandable.

In fact, the fedeal banking agencies have asked for comment on whether they should phase in the higher capital levels that banks would face when these assets come onto their balance sheets. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair reportedly told Bloomberg Dec. 3 that the agencies are likely to let banks phase in the higher capital levels over three years http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aN2SJifeRtNs&pos=5. That might be an indication the bank regulators, at least, are getting the message.

What do you think?

----Susan Webster, managing editor, Accounting Policy & Practice Report