The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that fair value "did not play a meaningful role" in the bank collapses of last year.
According to a report published by the commission, the bank failures stemmed from growing probable credit losses, concerns over asset quality and eroding lender and investor confidence.
However, US banks may dismiss the claim as they have already said the rules lost them billions of dollars on the value of their assets during the global credit crunch.
The report recommended improvements to existing practice such as accounting for impairments, developing additional guidance and determining fair value of investments in inactive markets.
Outgoing SEC chairman Christopher Cox said the report was "a valuable study" of the issues around fair value accounting in the "extraordinary market conditions of the past year".
He added: "It will be a useful source of information and guidance not only to policymakers in Congress but also to the independent standard-setters as they continue their work on these important issues."
Meanwhile, Big 4 firm Deloitte has said that the economic crisis has wiped around £65 billion off assets in the pension schemes of the UK's 100 largest companies.
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