Comprehensive Assessment/Stress Tests

ECB publishes Comprehensive Assessment manual

Results of Stress Tests

Comprehensive Assessment announced 2013

Stress Tests April 2014

October 2014

Overview The European Central Bank (ECB) is performing a comprehensive assessment prior to assuming full responsibility for supervision under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in November 2014. The assessment started in November 2013 and will take 12 months to complete, ending in October 2014. 131 banks across the EU will participate in the exercise covering approximately 85% of bank assets. The comprehensive assessment will conclude with an aggregate disclosure of the outcomes at country and bank level together with any recommendations for supervisory measures. This comprehensive outcome will be published prior to the ECB assuming its supervisory role in November 2014.The assessment is being carried out in collaboration with the national competent authorities (NCAs) of the Member States participating in the SSM, and supported by independent third parties.The comprehensive assessment is comprised of two main pillars: • an asset quality review (AQR) – to enhance the

transparency of bank exposures by reviewing the quality of banks’ assets, including the adequacy of asset and collateral valuation and related provisions;

• a stress test – to be performed in close cooperation with the EBA, which will examine the resilience of banks’ balance sheets to stress scenarios.

The ECB is managing the exercise and the NCAs are executing the exercise at national level. Quality assurance measures have been put in place to ensure consistency of execution across countries and banks

Latest news On 8 August 2014, the European Central Bank (ECB) published its Comprehensive Assessment Stress Test Manual. This manual gives details on the “join-up” of the asset quality review (AQR) and the stress test. The Manual also outlines the stress test quality assurance process, which ensures a rigorous exercise.

On 20 August 2014, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published the final templates for the 2014 EU-wide stress test. These are common templates for all EU banks and sets out the type and the format of data that will be disclosed on a bank-by-bank basis. The EBA will act as the central data hub for all EU banks providing a comprehensive dataset in an editable and user-friendly format. By disclosing data in a consistent and comparable way across the Single Market, the EBA will bring greater transparency to EU banks, contributing to enhanced market discipline of the entire EU banking sector.