Call to participate in the discussion on the disclosure of individual stress test results

All stakeholders interested in individual stress test results, including analysts, investors and policyholders.

In its role of promoting a sound and resilient European insurance sector, EIOPA is continuously striving to enhance transparency across its initiatives. In this context, EIOPA considers that the consistent and disciplined communication of the individual stress test results of participating undertakings is important to ensure transparency and comparability across the sector, thereby supporting a level playing field. The disclosure of individual results provides relevant information to a range of stakeholders, including analysts, investors and policyholders, and enables a more consistent assessment of undertakings’ resilience and vulnerabilities. By fostering greater transparency and comparability in the communication of stress test outcomes, such disclosure can strengthen confidence in the resilience of the insurance sector, support market discipline and contribute to financial stability.

Building on the provision introduced by the revised Solvency II framework, EIOPA and its Members are committed to pursuing the individual disclosure of stress test results, with the objective of ensuring that the results are communicated in a clear, consistent and meaningful manner, while minimising the risk of misinterpretation.

To support this objective, EIOPA intends to engage with the stakeholders that are most likely to use and analyse stress test results, in particular financial analysts, rating agencies and consultancy firms (collectively, the Users Group). The exchange with the Users Group will help EIOPA better understand users’ information needs and inform the development of an appropriate approach to the disclosure of individual stress test results.

The discussion with the Users Group will focus on the information that would be most relevant and useful for users when assessing and interpreting the results of a stress test. In particular, EIOPA would welcome views on the most relevant indicators to be disclosed, the level of detail needed to understand the impact of the scenario, and the information that would help users assess the severity and relevance of the shocks applied. The discussion may also consider how information on the scenario and the underlying assumptions should be presented, including, where relevant, the perceived likelihood and materiality of the shocks.

The feedback and insights gathered through this exchange will be used to inform the discussions between EIOPA and its Members on the approach to the public disclosure of individual stress test results. In particular, they will contribute to assessing what information and presentation format would best support a clear, meaningful and consistent understanding of the published results by their intended users.