Banking and Capital Markets Overview - Ernst & Young - United States

How do you manage through the recession and position your company for growth? Our banking and capital markets executives conducted over 5100 client meetings and identified some overarching themes. Enhancing risk management practices like forecasting and stress-testing and optimizing capital availability and deployment could mean the difference between surviving and thriving.

Innovation is the lifeblood of financial services. Yet some question whether the government’s growing involvement hinders the industry’s creativity.  The new issue of CrossCurrents looks at government participation in the recent economic crisis. And we report on how companies in asset management, banking and insurance navigate the changing market landscape.

Our CFO study was conducted during a time of unprecedented crisis in the financial markets. Senior bank finance executives and other global banking pundits reveal their struggles and insights during a snapshot in time marked by uncertainty and rapid change. Read their stories, as well as our assessment and perspective on the new risk-aware culture that must emerge.

The current financial crisis has made the role of the bank audit committee exponentially more challenging. We reveal how increased risks, strained resources and heightened scrutiny are impacting bank committees, and why their oversight is more important than ever to the financial health of an organization.

Check out what our leaders are saying in these highlights from our July webcast, “Financial statements in an IFRS world.” 

Industry leaders talk about IFRS and the future of financial reporting in this country and around the world. Watch highlights from our May 2008 IFRS Conference  

The credit crisis has driven many financial services executives to intensify their focus on risk convergence and risk management. Our latest survey shows how firms are adapting, while we offer perspectives on the work that still needs to be done.

The credit crisis has thrust asset-backed securities and other high-risk financial instruments into the spotlight. Coincidentally, for the past year, European banks have been wrestling with the newly mandated IFRS 7 requirement for financial instrument disclosures. Has IFRS brought more transparency to financial reporting? We analyze several first year IFRS 7 disclosures to give you an insider perspective.