Italian banks hardest hit by IFRS 9 transition

Italian banks’ capital levels were hit hardest by the adoption of new accounting standard IFRS 9 among their European peers, incurring an average 116 basis point charge to their common equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratios as a result of the transition.

Risk Quantum analysis of 36 banks from 11 European Union countries found the fully loaded capital impact, disregarding transitional measures, was an average decline of 34bp between December 31, 2017 – when the old accounting standard, IAS 39, was