Accounting standard-setters must not come under political pressure, the chairman of the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets has said. In a letter to the Financial Times today, Hans Hoogervorst said political pressure to change fair value is a 'dangerous development'. He said the criticism that mark-to-market accounting is based on unreliable price information given the instability of the markets should not be taken lightly. The majority of assets that most banks hold consist of their loan portfolio, which are still valued at amortised cost so are not subject to fair value, he argued. As a result, there can be no undershooting of the value of these assets as a result of fair value accounting. Hoogervorst argued that the opposite actually applies, that markets are worried that loan portfolios still contain a lot of hidden losses. He said: 'Overall, it does not seem likely that bank assets are being hugely undervalued.' 'It is very important that no undue pressure is exerted on accounting standard-setters. One lesson from the crisis is that regulators and standard-setters, subject to appropriate due process, should become more, instead of less, independent. If accounting standard setting comes to be perceived as a political process, confidence in the markets will be further undermined,' he added.