FED Amendments to Increase Transparency of Its Stress Testing Program
FED (or the Board) finalized a set of changes that will increase the transparency of its stress testing program for the nation's largest and most complex banks. FED adopted a final policy statement on the approach to supervisory stress testing conducted under its stress testing and capital plan rules. Also finalized was an enhanced disclosure of the models used in the supervisory stress test conducted under FED's Regulation YY and the capital plan rule. Additionally, FED adopted amendments to its policy statement on the scenario design framework for stress testing. These changes will be effective from April 01, 2019.
As part of the enhanced disclosure, the first change, which will begin for the 2019 stress test cycle and expand in subsequent years, will provide significantly more information about the stress testing models used in the Board's annual Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR). That information will include:
- Ranges of loss rates, estimated using the Board's models, for actual loans held by CCAR firms
- Portfolios of hypothetical loans with loss rates estimated by the Board's models
- More detailed descriptions of the Board's models, such as certain equations and key variables that influence the results of the models
Using this additional information, a firm would be better able to evaluate the risks in its own portfolio or compare the losses from its own models to losses from the Board's models. In response to comments received on the proposal from December 2017, the Board will provide additional information on a number of models, including those used to project operational-risk losses and pre-provision net revenue. The model disclosure will be updated each year and published in the first quarter of the year. In addition, FED finalized the stress testing policy statement, which elaborates on prior disclosures by describing the Board's approach to model development, implementation, and validation. The statement describes seven principles that have guided supervisory stress test modeling in the past and will continue to do so.
Finally, FED modified its framework for the design of the annual hypothetical economic scenarios. The modifications will provide more information on the hypothetical path of the unemployment rate and will introduce a quantitative guide for the hypothetical path of house prices, both of which are key variables for the scenarios. In a change from its proposal, the Board will not add variables to the hypothetical stress test scenario related to funding costs. The Board will further explore incorporating stress to certain types of funding into its stress testing program in the future.
Related Links
- Press Release
- Policy Statement on Scenario Design Framework
- Enhanced Disclosure of Models Used in Stress Test
- Stress Testing Policy Statement
Effective Date: April 01, 2019
Keywords: Americas, US, Banking, Stress Testing, Policy Statement, CCAR, Regulation YY, FED
Featured Experts

James Partridge
Credit analytics expert helping clients understand, develop, and implement credit models for origination, monitoring, and regulatory reporting.

Laurent Birade
Advises U.S. and Canadian financial institutions on risk and finance integration, CCAR/DFAST stress testing, IFRS9 and CECL credit loss reserving, and credit risk practices.

Emil Lopez
Credit risk modeling advisor; IFRS 9 researcher; data quality and risk reporting manager
Previous Article
PRA Publishes Final Policy on PRA110 Reporting Frequency ThresholdRelated Articles
BOE Sets Out Its Thinking on Regulatory Capital and Climate Risks
The Bank of England (BOE) published a working paper that aims to understand the climate-related disclosures of UK financial institutions.
OSFI Finalizes on Climate Risk Guideline, Issues Other Updates
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) is seeking comments, until May 31, 2023, on the draft guideline on culture and behavior risk, with final guideline expected by the end of 2023.
BIS Paper Examines Impact of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Lending
BIS issued a paper that investigates the effect of the greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions of firms on bank loans using bank–firm matched data of Japanese listed firms from 2006 to 2018.
HMT Mulls Alignment of Ring-Fencing and Resolution Regimes for Banks
The HM Treasury (HMT) is seeking evidence, until May 07, 2023, on practicalities of aligning the ring-fencing and the banking resolution regimes for banks.
BCBS Report Examines Impact of Basel III Framework for Banks
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) published results of the Basel III monitoring exercise based on the June 30, 2022 data.
PRA Consults on Prudential Rules for "Simpler-Regime" Firms
Among the recent regulatory updates from UK authorities, a key development is the first-phase consultation, from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), on simplifications to the prudential framework that would apply to the simpler-regime firms.
DNB Publishes Multiple Reporting Updates for Banks
DNB, the central bank of Netherlands, updated the list of additional reporting requests and published additional data quality checks and XBRL-Formula linkbase documents for the first quarter of 2023.
NBB Sets Out Climate Risk Expectations, Issues Reporting Updates
The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) published a communication on climate-related and environmental risks, issued an update on XBRL reporting
EBA Updates Address Securitization Standards and DGS Guidelines
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published the final draft of the regulatory technical standards that set out conditions for assessment of homogeneity of the underlying exposures in simple, transparent, and standardized (STS) securitizations.
FSB Publishes Letter to G20, Sets Out Work Priorities for 2023
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a letter intended for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, highlighting the work that FSB will take forward under the Indian G20 Presidency in 2023