ESMA statement on sovereign debt in IFRS financial statements

The statement contains two sections. Section 1 discusses accounting issues related to sovereign debt in IFRS annual financial statements ending 31 of December 2011. The section highlights elements that should be considered by issuers and their auditors. Section 2 is an ESMA Opinion based on the half-year financial statements as of 30 June 2011 published by European financial institutions with exposure to Greek sovereign debt. The Opinion provides a summary of the outcome of the fact-finding exercise together with elements that should have been considered as part of the half yearly financial statements.

ESMA publishes this statement to promote consistent application of European  securities and markets legislation, and notably of IFRS.

Link to ESMA statement

Contact:
Deputy Director General Anne Merethe Bellamy, tel.  22 93 98 43, mobile  908 78 449
Head of Section Siw-Mette Thomassen, tel. 22 93 99 46, mobile  452 67 051