{ "title": "Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP)", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/financial-sector-assessment-program-fsap", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/financial-sector-assessment-program-fsap", "overlayPath": "/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/financial-sector-assessment-program-fsap/index.md", "summary": "What is an FSAP? The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) provides a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the resilience of a country’s financial sector.", "publishDate": "2023-01-13", "sections": [ { "heading": "What an FSAP is", "content": "- The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) provides a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the resilience of a country’s financial sector.\n- The FSAP includes “stress tests” of financial institutions, an evaluation of the quality of supervision and regulation of the sector, and an assessment of the crisis management framework.\n- To date, more than three-quarters of IMF’s member countries have undergone assessments." }, { "heading": "Purpose and institutional roles", "content": "- The purpose of an FSAP is to help countries minimize the occurrence and severity of financial crises.\n- The FSAP was launched in 1999 with two goals: to gauge the stability and soundness of a country’s financial sector and assess how the financial sector can contribute to growth and development.\n- FSAPs are done jointly by IMF and World Bank staff in developing and emerging market countries and by the IMF alone in advanced economies.\n - The IMF specializes in the stability aspects.\n - The World Bank focuses on the developmental needs of the financial system." }, { "heading": "Coverage of the FSAP stability assessment", "content": "- Whether joint or stand-alone, the stability assessment is produced by the IMF and covers three components:\n 1. the source, probability, and potential impact of the main risks to macro-financial stability in the near-term;\n 2. the country’s financial stability policy framework; and\n 3. the authorities’ capacity to manage and resolve a financial crisis should the risks materialize.\n- The key findings of the stability assessment are summarized in the Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA), prepared by the IMF team.\n- The FSSA is a key input to IMF surveillance." }, { "heading": "Integration into IMF policy advice and mandatory assessments", "content": "- FSAP findings provide input into the IMF’s broader surveillance and policy advice, known as Article IV consultations.\n- When the FSAP began in 1999, assessments were voluntary.\n- In 2010, the IMF made it mandatory for 25 countries with systemically important financial sectors to undergo FSAP assessments every five years.\n- In 2013, the IMF’s Executive Board revised the methodology to place greater emphasis on interconnectedness, expanding the list of systemically important financial sector countries to 29.\n- The 2021 FSAP Review found stakeholders highly valued the program and the Executive Board endorsed the 2013 methodology with minor adjustments, making mandatory financial stability assessment more risk-based.\n - The list of countries mandated to undergo FSAP assessments rose to 47.\n - Of these, 32 countries and the euro area are expected to participate once every five years.\n - The other 15—many of them emerging market economies—participate every 10 years.\n- The 2021 FSAP Review emphasized further integration of FSAPs with Article IV consultations and the Comprehensive Surveillance Review." } ], "bullets": [ "The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) provides a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the resilience of a country’s financial sector.", "The FSAP includes “stress tests” of financial institutions, an evaluation of the quality of supervision and regulation of the sector, and an assessment of the crisis management framework.", "To date, more than three-quarters of IMF’s member countries have undergone assessments.", "The purpose of an FSAP is to help countries minimize the occurrence and severity of financial crises.", "The FSAP was launched in 1999 with two goals: to gauge the stability and soundness of a country’s financial sector and assess how the financial sector can contribute to growth and development.", "FSAPs are done jointly by IMF and World Bank staff in developing and emerging market countries and by the IMF alone in advanced economies.", "Whether joint or stand-alone, the stability assessment is produced by the IMF and covers three components:", "The key findings of the stability assessment are summarized in the Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA), prepared by the IMF team.", "The FSSA is a key input to IMF surveillance.", "FSAP findings provide input into the IMF’s broader surveillance and policy advice, known as Article IV consultations.", "When the FSAP began in 1999, assessments were voluntary.", "In 2010, the IMF made it mandatory for 25 countries with systemically important financial sectors to undergo FSAP assessments every five years.", "In 2013, the IMF’s Executive Board revised the methodology to place greater emphasis on interconnectedness, expanding the list of systemically important financial sector countries to 29.", "The 2021 FSAP Review found stakeholders highly valued the program and the Executive Board endorsed the 2013 methodology with minor adjustments, making mandatory financial stability assessment more risk-based.", "The 2021 FSAP Review emphasized further integration of FSAPs with Article IV consultations and the Comprehensive Surveillance Review." ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/financial-sector-assessment-program-fsap/index.md", "json": "/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/financial-sector-assessment-program-fsap/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/financial-sector-assessment-program-fsap/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-29T16:31:57.555Z" }