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ZURICH - West European banks are failing to disclose unfunded staff pension obligations running to billions of dollars, in contrast to US banks which are required to show the full picture, Standard & Poor's said in a report on Monday.

West European banks are failing to disclose unfunded staff pension obligations running to billions of dollars, in contrast to US banks which are required to show the full picture, Standard and Poor's said in a report on Monday. Lloyds Bank, pictured here in this photo taken May 13, 2003, had the highest pension obligations as a percentage of shareholders' equity, the report said. [Reuters]

Since adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 2004, many European banks have used the so-called corridor method of accounting, allowing big unrecognized actuarial losses on their pension obligations to be kept off the balance sheet.

"They are hiding behind the corridor method," said the report's author Eddie Khamoo. "The real picture which has emerged is that we have a huge amount of pension deficits which ultimately will require cash funding."

The report on defined-benefit pension plans of 44 West European banks said the transition to IFRS reporting resulted in about 19 billion euros (US$24.4 billion) being charged directly to banks' retained earnings.

"This amount permanently escapes being reported in earnings and represented 2 per cent of the banks' shareholders' equity at (the time of) transition (to IFRS reporting)," said the report.

Some Swiss and German banks adopted IFRS earlier and did not have to make the charge.

Khamoo said the corridor accounting method should be scrapped. "We would encourage full disclosure," he said.

Banks also had to come up with a funding plan for their pension liabilities. "This is something they have to face up to. These are very large amounts and they have to fund liabilities with related assets," said Khamoo.

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