The Central Bank of Paraguay and the Banking Superintendency have started a project to adopt and implement International Financial Reporting Standards, supported by an expansion of the Inter-American Development Bank’s Capacity Building, Asset Management and Advisory Services program. The initiative will be rolled out in stages over the medium term and is intended to align financial reporting in Paraguay’s banking system with international accounting standards used for recognition, measurement and presentation of financial statements. The central bank linked the move to international banking regulatory practices and Basel principles, saying IFRS should improve the quality, comparability and transparency of financial information used in bank supervision and macroeconomic decision-making. It also presented the transition as supporting accounting standardization, reducing regulatory compliance frictions, improving access to external funding and giving financial institutions more reliable information to assess risks and opportunities. In the context of interest rate formation, it said accounting standardization could support better financial risk valuation and more efficient pricing of rates and credit access. The project is expected to move through assessment, development and the start of effective implementation, with a target horizon of three to four years.