In response to the U.S. banking bailout and related accounting guidance on fair-value measurement, the International Accounting Standards Board is answering worries abroad about whether U.S. and foreign banks will be operating on a level playing field.

European leaders called on IASB to assure international accounting rules are consistent with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles with respect to how financial institutions in particular will measure the value of their troubled financial instruments. IASB published a statement assuring the joint guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Accounting Standards Board on Financial Statement No. 157: Fair Value Measurements last week is consistent with International Accounting Standard 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. “The IASB will continue to ensure that any IFRS guidance is consistent with the clarification that has been provided by the U.S. SEC staff and the FASB staff for those companies using U.S. GAAP,” IASB wrote in its statement. “This will help ensure comparability across borders.” FASB also published a proposed amendment to FAS 157 to add an illustrative example of how to apply FAS 157 in illiquid markets.

IASB said it also would work closely with FASB on valuation issues that may arise as financial assets and liabilities are measured on purchases resulting from the federal bailout plan, or the U.S. Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. IASB also said it will take a closer look at its rules around reclassifying financial instruments to assure entities reporting under International Financial Reporting Standards are not held to a different standard than U.S. entities reporting under GAAP, assuring comparability. The board said it will take special care to consider the potential need “to counteract abuse resulting from the ability to reclassify financial instruments and related areas of accounting” to assure consistency for U.S. and international entities.

Meanwhile IASB plans to publish sometime next spring its own version of a fair-value measurement rule. IASB and FASB conferred on how to define fair value as FASB was developing FAS 157, and several IASB members said openly during that process they don’t ascribe to FASB’s strict use of an exit price for measuring fair value in all circumstances. IASB spokesman Mark Byatt said IASB plans to publish an exposure draft of a new standard for measuring fair value in the next few weeks. IASB has already published a discussion paper looking for views on FAS 157’s more rigid views on measuring fair value.