The European Banking Authority has commenced a consultation on proposed changes to the EU-wide stress test framework for banks. The EU-wide stress test contributes to improving the financial resilience of banks. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until April 30, 2020. The EBA is holding a public hearing on the proposals on February 21, 2020. The 2020 EU-wide stress test is going to run under the current framework, the results of which will be published in July 2020.

The EBA is proposing to amend the framework to have two parts. The first would be the supervisory element, based on a common EU methodology. It would include the current constrained bottom-up approach, but also have an option for national regulators to adjust or replace banks' estimates based on top-down models and other tools. The second part would be the bank element and would be based on the same common methodology applied in the supervisory part. However, banks would be given more discretion to calculate their projections, provided an explanation and disclosure of the rational and impact of any deviations is possible. The quality of disclosure of the results would remain high, with only the supervisory leg being amended to limit the quantity of disclosure. Feedback is also sought on the approach to scenario designs.

View the consultation paper and other details.

[View source.]