April 2, 2015
IMF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT |
| Media Relations |
|---|
| E-mail: media@imf.org |
| Phone: 202-623-7100 |
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is today publishing a set of preliminary documents for its Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) of the United States. The FSAP provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of a country’s financial sector. The FSAP findings provide inputs to the IMF’s broader surveillance of its member countries’ economies, known as Article IV consultations.
Discussions for the U.S. FSAP took place during October–November, 2014 and February–March, 2015. The Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA), which is the main output of the FSAP, will be discussed by the IMF’s Executive Board at the time of the annual Article IV discussion in the summer, and will be published shortly thereafter. The publication schedule will be announced in due time.
At the request of the U.S. authorities, the three “Detailed Assessment of Observance Reports” that were prepared during the part of the FSAP exercise that took place in October-November 2014 are being released today:
1. The Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision
2. The IOSCO Objectives and Principles for Securities Regulation
3. The IAIS Insurance Core Principles.
Additional background material is expected to be published in the coming months.
Background Information
The focus of the FSAP assessments is to gauge the stability of the financial sector and to assess its potential contribution to growth. To assess financial stability, an FSAP examines the soundness and resilience of the banking and other financial sectors from a systemic perspective, conducts stress tests, rates the quality of financial regulation and supervision against accepted international standards, and evaluates the ability of country authorities to intervene effectively in case of a financial crisis. Assessments in developing and emerging market countries are done by the IMF jointly with the World Bank; those in advanced economies are done by the IMF alone. In jurisdictions with financial sectors deemed by the Fund to be systemically important, which includes the United States, financial stability assessments under the FSAP are a mandatory part of Article IV surveillance, and are intended to take place every five years.
Since the FSAP was launched in 1999, more than 170 countries have volunteered to undergo these assessments (many countries more than once). Following the global financial crisis, demand for FSAP assessments has been rising, and all G-20 countries have made a commitment to undergo regular assessments. The U.S. financial system underwent an FSAP assessment for the first time in 2010.
For additional information on the program, see the Factsheet and FAQs.
