Fed announces new report on financial stability

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve said Friday it will begin issuing a new report twice a year assessing the stability of the U.S. financial system.

The Fed said the first report will be issued on Nov. 28. It will provide information on potential financial vulnerabilities tracked by the central bank such as valuations for bank loans, borrowing by businesses and households and bank funding risks.

"We learned from the financial crisis that a resilient financial system is critical for a healthy economy," said Fed board member Lael Brainard. "The publication of the Financial Stability Report will be an important step in providing the public with more information about the board's assessment of financial stability."

The Fed said the new stability reports would be issued every spring and fall.

After the financial crisis, Fed officials decided bank regulators had done a poor job in monitoring financial market threats and the central bank created a new division to focus on these threats.

Randal Quarles, the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, said in a speech Friday that the central bank is currently reviewing possible changes to the annual stress tests it performs on the country's largest banks. The Fed began conducting the tests in the wake of the 2008 crisis.

"Our stress testing regime — like the banking and financial system that it evaluates — will and should evolve as we continue to learn from experience in the management of this tool."

Quarles will testify before House and Senate committees next week discussing the central bank's supervision activities this year.