Accounting Matters - IAS 19: the negative view
By Stephen BouvierJanuary 2021 (Magazine)
Negative interest rates are probably the most daring policy move most of us will ever see. The idea that a borrower is paid to take out a loan, but a saver is penalised for setting aside money for their retirement turns our understanding of the fundamentals of finance on its head. But Europe has had them for more than a decade. And if the experience of today’s financial crisis is anything to go by, it will do so for a while longer yet. So where does this leave defined benefit (DB) sponsors and their accountants?