Foreign banks and governments should be more open about the financial risks they are running because of the euro debt crisis, the head of the Dutch financial services watchdog AFM says in Tuesday’s Financieele Dagblad.

‘Some banks may think they can fool the markets, but that will only increase the lack of confidence and exacerbate the crisis,’ Ronald Gerritse is quoted as saying.
Gerritse, the former head of the treasury, said it is ‘bitter reality’ that another economic crisis is looming. ‘It is up to responsible politicians throughout Europe, and the regulators, to build confidence,’ he said. ‘You earn trust by being honest, not by dodging the reality.’

Standards
In particular, Gerritse said he is concerned that not all European banks appeared to have used the same reporting standards to cover the crisis in their half-yearly reports.
Some 10 of the 52 most important European financial institutions would appear to have made ‘special interpretations’ of the rules and not written off enough money to cover the crisis, he said.
Gerritse declined to name names, saying it is up to the banks themselves to give clarity and local regulators to judge if they have done this properly. ‘I have made the other regulators aware of my concerns. It is up to them to take responsibility,’ he told the paper.