Fed Orders New Round of Stress Tests
With concerns rising that a default within the EU could be a "Lehman event" for Europe, the Fed has come up with fairly vigorous stress tests for potential fallout on the largest US banks and other institutions. The new tests assume an initial quarterly drop in GDP of 8%, and a U3 unemployment rate that increases to 13% within two years, an increase of 4 points from its current level.
Reuters reports:
The U.S. Federal Reserve plans to stress test six large U.S. banks against a hypothetical market shock, including a deterioration of the European debt crisis. The Fed said it will publish the results next year of the tests for six banks with large trading operations. Those banks are Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. The Fed said its global market shock test for those banks will be generally based on price and rate movements that occurred in the second half of 2008, and also on "additional stresses related to the ongoing situation in Europe." The heightened stress test for those six banks are part of a larger supervisory test the Fed will conduct on 19 firms' capital plans. The Fed's review of those plans will determine whether the banks can raise dividends or repurchase stock. The banks must submit their capital plans by Jan. 19, 2012.
Reuters reports:
The U.S. Federal Reserve plans to stress test six large U.S. banks against a hypothetical market shock, including a deterioration of the European debt crisis. The Fed said it will publish the results next year of the tests for six banks with large trading operations. Those banks are Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. The Fed said its global market shock test for those banks will be generally based on price and rate movements that occurred in the second half of 2008, and also on "additional stresses related to the ongoing situation in Europe." The heightened stress test for those six banks are part of a larger supervisory test the Fed will conduct on 19 firms' capital plans. The Fed's review of those plans will determine whether the banks can raise dividends or repurchase stock. The banks must submit their capital plans by Jan. 19, 2012.