BoE cancels 2020 stress test

The Bank of England (BoE) has announced it is cancelling its 2020 stress test for the eight major banks and buildings in the UK.

The bank’s decision is intended to help lenders instead focus on meeting the needs of UK households and businesses via the continuing provision of credit during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The stress test, or the annual cyclical scenario (ACS), is a simulation carried out by the BoE designed to determine its ability to deal with an economic crisis.

The announcement to cancel this year’s ACS is part of several measures the BoE and Prudential Regulation Authority have announced, aimed at providing flexibility to help firms and financial market infrastructures maintain their safety and deliver the critical functions they provide to the economy.

The recent 2019 stress test showed that the UK banking system was “resilient” to deep simultaneous recessions in the UK, as well as global economies that are more severe overall than the global financial crisis, combined with large falls in asset prices and a separate stress of misconduct costs.

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.


NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?

The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.


Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?



In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.

The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.

In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.