The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) in the UK has issued a press release indicating its backing of Economic Cycle Reserving (ECR).
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has been promoting the idea of an ECR both within the UK and through the international Financial Stability Forum.
The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) organised a meeting of about 40 representatives of investors, accountancy firms, the banking industry and regulators to discuss counter-cyclical measures.
The idea of an ECR is that it would build up during the upswing of the economic cycle through an appropriation from retained profits. It would be an undistributable balance sheet reserve, limiting a bank's ability to pay dividends and make share buybacks during the upswing and available to be released in the bad times.