The Federal Reserve is considering delaying until September 2013 the requirement that medium-sized banks conduct annual stress tests, the U.S. central bank said on Monday.
The delay would apply to banks with between $10 billion and $50 billion in total assets.
The tests, mandated by the 2010 Dodd Frank law, are currently slated to go into effect when the stress test rule is finalized.
But the Federal Reserve said it had received comments that raised concerns over whether banks would have the "resources, readiness, and ability to conduct stress tests given the likely short period between publication of a final rule and the start of stress testing," it said.
"The delay under consideration would help ensure that these companies have sufficient time to develop high-quality stress testing programs," the Federal Reserve said in a statement.
The stress test rule was proposed in December 2011.
The Fed said it had consulted with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which are also considering similar changes to time lines for their stress test requirements.
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