Brussels, 28/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Banking Federation has denied reports of disagreements between its members (including France and the UK) over International Accounting Standard 39 under negotiation at the International Accounting Standards Bureau, IASB (as may have been suggested by our article on p.15 on 27 February). The EBF has unveiled a common position in this connection asserting that the current proposal for an IAS on financial instruments is inappropriate. It appears that European banks are on the same wavelength and any divergence between France and the UK being at the level of the surveillance authorities.