Calls Building for Delay of Loan Loss Accounting Overhaul (1)

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams sent a rare request to U.S. accounting rulemakers asking them to hold off on making banks comply with major new credit loss accounting rules.

A moratorium on the current expected credit losses (CECL) accounting standard should be considered for banks that haven’t implemented it yet amid “unprecedented” uncertainty about the coronavirus pandemic, McWilliams said Thursday.

That would allow banks to focus on the “immediate business challenges” of Covid-19. For large publicly traded banks that must comply this year, she asked the board to give them the option to follow the rules.

“In ...