Supervisory stress testing is a technique used to assess the robustness of financial institutions and the broader financial system to severe but plausible shocks. Since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, it has emerged as an important tool for supervisors that complements other approaches and methods.

Stress testing is one of the more complex tasks undertaken by supervisory authorities. Primarily used to inform solvency and liquidity adequacy assessments, it is also a critical method for exploring emerging risks and the threats they pose to financial institutions.

This TC Note and accompanying podcast discusses the design, effective use, limitations, and interpretation of stress tests by financial supervisors. It explores a range of stress tests, from elementary, top-down applications to more sophisticated tests using scenarios applied bottom-up to multiple financial institutions. 

Speaker: 

R. Barry Johnston, Program Leader, Toronto Centre

Host: 

Demet Çanakçı, Senior Program Director, Toronto Centre

Read the transcript here. Read their biographies here. 



https://www.torontocentre.org/