Press Release: IMF Releases Background Material for its Assessment of the United States under the Financial Sector Assessment Program

May 14, 2010

Press Release No. 10/197
May 14, 2010

Discussions for the International Monetary Fund’s assessment of the United States under the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) took place during October 14–November 3, 2009 and February 17–March 12, 2010. The Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) report, which is the main output of the FSAP process, will be discussed by the Executive Board of the IMF at the time of the annual Article IV discussion in the summer. The FSSA report will be published with the Article IV report at that time.

At the request of the U.S. authorities, all seven Detailed Assessment of Observance Reports and four Technical Notes that were prepared during the first part of the FSAP exercise in October/November 2009 are being released today. Remaining Technical Notes are under preparation, and will all be published at the time of the release of the FSSA report.

The documents published today are as follows:

Detailed Assessment of Observance Reports
1. The Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision
2. The IOSCO Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation
3. The IAIS Insurance Core Principles
4. The Fedwire Securities Service’s Observance of the CPSS-IOSCO Recommendations for Securities Settlement Systems
5. The Depository Trust Company’s Observance of the CPSS-IOSCO Recommendations for Securities Settlement Systems
6. The National Securities Clearing Corporation’s Observance of the CPSS-IOSCO Recommendations for Central Counterparties
7. The Fixed Income Clearing Corporation—Government Securities Division’s Observance of the CPSS-IOSCO Recommendations for Central Counterparties

Technical Notes
1. Crisis Management Arrangements
2. Selected Issues on Liquidity Risk Management in Fedwire Funds and Private Sector Payments Systems
3. Selected Issues on Oversight of Payment, Clearing, and Settlement Systems
4. Basel II Implementation Preparedness

The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) is a voluntary, 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. 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 of the banks and other financial institutions, 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.

This is the first time the U.S. financial system is undergoing an FSAP assessment. Since the FSAP was launched in 1999, more than 125 countries have volunteered to undergo these examinations (many countries more than once), with another 35 or so currently underway or in the pipeline. In the case of the United States, the authorities committed to undertake an FSAP in 2006. Following the recent global financial crisis, demand for FSAP assessments has been rising, and all G-20 countries have made a commitment to undergo regular assessments. For additional information on the program, see the Factsheet and FAQs.

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