Mid-sized banks have begun reporting the public results of their Dodd-Frank Act-mandated stress tests and disclosures will continue through the end of the month. This is the first time that banks with $10-50 billion in assets are required to publicly release their results.
While initial news reports showed that banks reporting thus far would not fall below minimum capital levels, even under the regulators’ worst economic scenario, ABA VP Hugh Carney cautioned readers from drawing conclusions based on the stress test results. He noted in an American Banker interview that the tests are of banks with disparate market footprints, sizes, activities and risk profiles and that it would be “unwise” to compare results.
ABA advocated for regulators to tailor the stress tests and disclosure methods and urged regulators to clarify the stress test results for the media and public, which it did in a recent statement. For more information, contact Carney.