Empirical results for expected credit losses of G-SIBs during COVID-19. The proof of the pudding is in the eating

Abstract

This study examines the provision for credit losses and its disclosures for Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) in connection to the COVID-19 crisis. We find a profound difference in the increase of the provision for credit losses between banks that report under IFRS and US GAAP. For banks that report under US GAAP, the provision for credit losses more than doubles, while it increases by only 32 percent for banks that report under IFRS. This difference becomes even more striking when considering that the increase for IFRS-reporting banks is partly attributable to increased lending activities. This study further finds that European auditors are more likely to issue a Key Audit Matter (KAM), than auditors of US banks, and that these KAMs specifically relate to COVID-19 in the financial year 2020. Furthermore, IFRS-reporting banks disclose more information on expected credit losses than banks that report under US GAAP. Moreover, we find that European banks disclose relatively more information regarding the impact of COVID-19 than banks reporting under US GAAP.