ABJ in cooperation with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, held an electronic symposium entitled Comprehensive Stress Testing in Financial Services on Tuesday 21/9/2021. A large number of the banking sector’s managers and employees of risk and credit departments participated in the symposium which was held via Zoom technology.

Dr. Joachim Bald, the Frankfurt School’s largest international consultant and a recognized expert in treasury, risk and asset management, gave a lecture in the symposium. He serves as the Principal Advisor at the Frankfurt School Competence Center and is the Academic Director of the “Certified Expert” in Risk Management at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.

The electronic symposium discussed the importance of stress tests as an important tool used by banks in measuring their ability to withstand shocks and the high risks they may face as such tests assess the bank’s financial situation within severe but possible scenarios. The stress tests have a future dimension in assessing risks and in ways that go beyond statistical methods based on historical information. These tests also help the board of directors and senior executive management to understand the bank’s conditions in times of crisis. Stress testing is also an essential part of the risk management process in banks.

The symposium touched upon the different means and methodologies, the main risks to be taken into consideration in stress tests and the mechanism for selecting scenarios on which those tests are conducted. It also addressed the BCBS Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s guidance on internal stress testing programs including ICAAP and ILAAP, the impact of credit correlations and the relationship with the BCBS and IFRS impairment provisions guidelines.

The symposium comes as the first cooperation of the ABJ with Frankfurt College which is one of the most prestigious and leading schools in the world in the field of finance and management. This constitutes the first for more future cooperation between the two sides especially in the fields of training and consultancy in a manner that achieves the maximum possible benefit for the Jordanian banking sector.