Banks – Illustrative disclosures

Your essential guide to disclosures for banks

Our Guides to financial statements help you to prepare and present financial statements in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards.

Our Illustrative disclosures for banks illustrate one possible format for financial statements of a fictitious banking group that is involved in a range of general banking activities and is not a first-time adopter of IFRS Accounting Standards.

What’s new in 2025?

Tell a clear, coherent and connected story

Investors, regulators and other report users rely on the financial statements to provide decision-useful information – i.e. information about a bank that is useful in making decisions about providing resources to that bank.

In times of uncertainty, users look for clarity in the annual report. They want to know how a bank is affected and how it addresses the challenges, and what judgements, estimates and assumptions management makes.

Banks may also face direct challenge from users if their annual reports fail to tell a connected story. This is especially important when reporting on issues that create volatility for the bank’s prospects – e.g. climate-related effects and other uncertainties. The annual report’s three key areas – the financial statements, the sustainability disclosures and management commentary (e.g. management’s discussion and analysis) – need to provide insights into the company’s business model and strategy, connecting the dots between financial and non-financial information.

Annual financial statements – 2025 reporting period

The 2025 Illustrative disclosures for banks reflect requirements relating to accounting standards, amendments and interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that are effective for companies with annual periods beginning on 1 January 2025.

In addition, they illustrate early adoption of the amendments to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures issued by the IASB in May 2024, specifically those relating to the assessment of contractual cash flow characteristics of financial assets and the associated disclosure requirements.