I read that Bankscope lists financial data in multiple formats including a universal format to compare banks globally. But when I look at my data set banks are listed with different accounting standards (IFRS, Local Gaap, US Gap), but not with such a thing as a “universal format”. For example, some banks, like the Deutsche Bank AG are listed several times, looking like they were different company entities, with different accounting standards.
How should I interpret that? Does Bankscope give me the financial data of one bank under different accounting standards? How do I get the universal format so I can compare banks with different accounting standards?
Would you even recommend using that universal format? I dont know the algorithm (how Bankscope translates different accounting standards into that universal format) but I believe that it might be quit biased. It would be great to get some thoughts from you about that issue too.
Moreover, I could not find in which unit of measurement and in which currency the financial data is given. Is the data always stated in the currency of the country the bank operates in or is it translated into US $? I ve got access to Bankscope through the Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) and I could not find where to define the currency and the accounting standard.