[author: Rebecca Cousins]

The EBA has published a methodological note and the macroeconomic scenarios for the 2016 EU-wide stress test for banks. The stress test is designed to provide supervisors, banks and other market participants with a common analytical framework to consistently compare and assess the resilience of EU banks to economic shocks. The test is to be conducted on a sample of 51 EU banks and will cover 70% of the EU banking sector.

The methodological note explains the methodology by which the banks are intended to calculate the stress impact of the provided scenarios and sets constraints for their bottom-up calculations. It also aims to provide banks with guidance and support for performing the test. The EBA has also published a press release containing related technical documents, including a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the stress tests.

Results from the stress-test are expected in the third quarter of 2016.