Dodd-Frank stress-test results due in March

Results from the supervisory stress tests required under the Dodd-Frank Act will be released on March 7, while related results from the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) will be released on March 14, the Federal Reserve said.

Results for both will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The Dodd-Frank stress tests are intended to help assess whether institutions have sufficient capital to absorb losses and support operations during adverse economic conditions. The test results will include data such as capital ratios, revenue and loss estimates under a severely adverse scenario and assuming a common set of capital actions that is used in the analysis of all of the firms.

CCAR is an annual exercise by the Federal Reserve to help assess whether the largest bank holding companies have sufficient capital to continue operations during the upcoming two-year period, assuming economic and financial stress. The exercise also assesses whether these companies have robust, forward-looking capital planning processes that account for their unique risks and are supported by the firms’ risk-measurement and risk-management practices.

As part of the CCAR, the Fed evaluates each company’s plans to make capital distributions, such as dividend payments, stock repurchases or planned acquisitions. CCAR results include capital ratios under a severely adverse scenario and reflect the capital actions the companies plan to undertake.

Also, on Feb. 4, the Federal Reserve Board released the global market shock component of the adverse and severely adverse scenarios used in the latest Dodd-Frank Act stress tests and the CCAR to evaluate the capital positions of the six bank holding companies with significant trading operations. The Federal Reserve Board previously had issued publicly the macroeconomic scenarios for the current stress test cycle.

None of the requirements related to CCAR or the Dodd-Frank stress tests apply to banks with assets of $10 billion or less.