Reports from Brazilian public banks

This study sought to verify the level of disclosure practised by Brazilian public banks in relation to the recommendations of Pillar 3 of the Basel 2 Accord. The content analysis technique was used, examining the financial information available on BACEN's website for the fourth quarters of 2008 and 2009. The main reports analysed were the explanatory notes and the management report. Pillar 3 disclosure requirements are presented in fourteen tables in the Accord, but this study used the nine tables with disclosure requirements related to the application of standardised approaches. The results indicated that disclosure levels were 25 per cent in 2008 and 29 per cent in 2009. To summarise, the disclosure of public banks still shows an incipient level of transparency and the disclosure of information is usually restricted to the information required by legislation.