A group of financial regulators from five countries today published a report detailing what they consider to be industry-leading disclosure practices uncovered by a survey of top financial firms.

Senior financial supervisors from France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States (Senior Supervisors Group) issued a report that reviews the disclosure practices of financial services firms concerning their exposures to certain financial instruments that the marketplace now considers to be high-risk. The report provides examples of current leading practices in reporting exposures to instruments such as collateralized debt obligations, residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, other special purpose entities and leveraged finance loans.

“The recent market turmoil has heightened the desirability for financial firms to publicly disclose their exposures to certain instruments that the marketplace now considers to be high risk or to involve more risk than previously thought,” the report notes.

The paper highlights some leading disclosure practices among 20 large, internationally oriented financial firms — 15 banks and five securities firms — including information contained in financial statements, press releases, and investor presentations. “Indeed, some of the leading disclosure practices referenced in this paper were contained in advance or supplementary material, which provides market participants with more timely information on exposures of current concern,” it adds.

“The results of the survey indicate that disclosure practices can be enhanced without necessarily amending existing disclosure requirements, as disclosure requirements allow firms considerable discretion in how they convey information,” it suggests.