Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP)

The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), established in 1999, is a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of a country’s financial sector. FSAPs in advanced economies are conducted by the IMF with a focus on assessing the resilience of the financial sector, the quality of the regulatory and supervisory framework, and the capacity to manage and resolve financial crises.  In developing and emerging market economies, FSAPs are conducted jointly with the World Bank. These FSAPs also include a financial development assessment, which is the responsibility of the World Bank. Based on their findings, FSAPs produce recommendations of a micro- and macro-prudential nature and on developmental needs in developing and emerging market economies, tailored to country-specific circumstances. These recomendations are contained in an Aide Memoire, which is a confidential and comprehensive document left with national authorities at the end of the last FSAP mission. FSAPs conclude with the preparation of a Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA), which is discussed at the IMF Executive Board together with the country’s Article IV report. Publication of FSSAs is presumed, but voluntary. In addition to the main document (listed below if published), individual country’s FSAPs may bring forward additional supporting documents.

The FSAP is a key instrument of the Fund’s surveillance and provides important inputs to bilateral surveillance in the context of Article IV consultation. Financial stability assessments under the FSAP are a mandatory part of Article IV surveillance for members with Systemically Important Financial Sector (SIFS), and are currently expected to take place every five or ten years depending on thier relative systemic relevance in transmitting shocks across borders; for all other jurisdictions, participation in the program is voluntary.

FSAP Tracker Map

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Last Updated: March 24, 2025

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2025 FSAP Schedule

This year’s assessments include seven economies with systemically important financial sectors: China, Canada, Euro Area, France, India, and Switzerland, which are reviewed every five years; and the Slovak Republic, reviewed every 10 years. The FSAPs for Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Oman, and Moldova are being done on a voluntary basis since the authorities requested the assessments themselves.

Azerbaijan

The FSAP is taking place during a stronger domestic macro-financial environment compared to the last FSAP in 2015. Azerbaijan’s economy has recovered from two downturns driven by the global oil price collapse in 2015 and COVID-19 in 2020. The FSAP is assessing vulnerabilities in the bank-dominated financial system, macroprudential policies, regulatory-supervisory framework, and the financial safety net, focusing on tackling structural and emergent risks. The IMF will focus on the Stability Module of the FSAP, complementing the Development Module conducted by the World Bank in 2022.

Canada

The review of Canada’s large, highly developed, and sophisticated financial system takes place against the background of accentuated vulnerabilities in the Canadian housing market and looming challenges due to weaker global growth and rising geopolitical uncertainties. The FSAP will assess vulnerabilities and risks in banks (including climate-related physical and transition risks), pension funds and insurance firms, and in the corporate and household sectors. It will review the authorities’ oversight of banks, nonbank deposit-taking institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, securities markets, and cyber resilience. It will also assess the adequacy of macroprudential policies, systemic liquidity, safety nets and crisis management, and the AML-CFT framework.

China

The China FSAP will consider risks and vulnerabilities facing the second largest financial system in the world, including five Globally Systemically Important Banks, more than 300 percent of GDP in bank assets, and an extensive nonbank financial sector. The FSAP takes place amid moderating growth, large local government debt overhang, and a property market slowdown. It is assessing the readiness of the crisis management and safety net framework; systemic liquidity management and financial stability oversight frameworks to mitigate risks; and the strength of bank, insurance, securities and NBFI supervision, as well as supervision of the large “big tech” firms unique to China. 

Euro Area

The FSAP will focus on reforms to the prudential framework from a supranational perspective, such as progress on reforms to the regulatory framework, including Basel III, Solvency II and renewed impetus on the Capital Market Union (viewed from a financial stability standpoint). The FSAP plans to cover systemic risk monitoring of banks and nonbank financial institutions, interconnectedness and contagion and risks related to geopolitical issues, cyber security, the pass through of past monetary policy tightening on deposit rates, funding costs, credit growth, and system-wide liquidity. It will also analyze reforms needed to complete the Banking Union, and strengthen the euro area crisis management framework, with a focus on the lessons from the Spring 2023 bank failures in the US and Switzerland, including for emergency liquidity assistance and the need for flexibility in resolution regimes and planning.

France

The France FSAP will assess the risks and vulnerabilities of a highly developed financial system that is dominated by large banking and insurance-focused conglomerates. Interconnections between these conglomerates and the large domestic money market and fixed income market will be examined. The FSAP will conduct solvency and liquidity stress tests of the seven largest banks and will consider the impact of macroprudential measures introduced since the 2019 FSAP. A full Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) assessment will also be conducted. Other workstreams include work on conglomerate supervision, an assessment of cyber risks and readiness, and operationalization of the EU financial safety net and crisis management framework.

India

The FSAP is taking place at a time when India’s economy is growing the fastest among major advanced and emerging markets. Since the last FSAP in 2017, the government significantly recapitalized and consolidated state-owned banks. Fintech flourished and improved access to finance, helped by the digital public infrastructure. The FSAP will assess the system’s risks and vulnerabilities, regulation and supervision framework, and crisis management and safety net arrangements following three key themes—new risks and oversight challenges from the rise in nonbank financial intermediation and their linkages to the dominant banking sector and among themselves; adapting the role of the state in the financial system to better serve India’s growth model; and, emerging risks from digitalization, especially cybersecurity challenges, and climate change. 

Moldova

The Moldova FSAP takes place amid an economic recovery from adverse spillovers from the war in Ukraine albeit with risks on inflation and growth arising from the materialization of the risks in the energy sector. The FSAP will assess the adequacy of solvency and liquidity buffers of the banking sector under stressed scenarios, the interconnectedness in the financial system, the appropriateness of macroprudential policies and tools, the effectiveness of the NBM’s regulation and supervision of banks, financial integrity risks to the financial sector, and the operational readiness of financial safety nets.

Oman

The Oman FSAP, conducted jointly with the World Bank, will take place against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions, potential disruptions in international trade, and a tight monetary policy for several regions. As Oman’s economic transformation gains traction and entrepreneurship and innovation take center stage, the FSAP will assess the resilience of the financial system under economic downturn scenarios, the effectiveness of banking oversight and macroprudential frameworks, and the progress made since the last FSAP on enhancing crisis management and safety net frameworks. The focus will also be on climate risk analysis, systemic liquidity management, and assessing the banking oversight frameworks. A full assessment of the quality of bank supervision using Basel Core Principles will be conducted covering conventional banks. A focused review of Islamic finance core principles is also planned, covering Islamic banks and Islamic finance, the share of which is rising in the financial system.

Slovak Republic

The first FSAP under the 10-year mandatory cycle focuses on the stability of the bank-dominated financial system. Since the previous FSAP in 2007, the financial sector oversight has gone through significant changes, with the framework for the regulation and supervision of less significant institutions harmonized with that for significant institutions, the active use of macroprudential policies to address emerging risks, and the adoption of the EU Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive. The FSAP takes place against the backdrop of an economic recovery, tight financial conditions coupled with indications of real estate overvaluation. The assessment will cover the resilience of banks against external shocks and risks associated with the real estate sector, the regulation and supervision of Less Significant Institutions, the macroprudential policy framework, the financial safety nets and crisis management frameworks, and financial integrity.

Switzerland

The FSAP is taking place against the backdrop of a broadly stable macroeconomic environment, overvaluation in the real estate market, and the recent Credit Suisse crisis. The FSAP will assess the supervisory frameworks for banks (against the Basel Core Principles), Financial Market Infrastructures, and insurance and asset management sectors. It will also assess the frameworks for safety net and crisis management, including emergency liquidity assistance. The risk analysis will cover the insurance sector, and for banks, it will go beyond systemically important banks to assess risks in smaller banks. The large exposure of the financial sector to the real estate market calls for an assessment of the calibration and effectiveness of macroprudential policy. Financial integrity, mounting cyber risks, and new developments in fintech and crypto will also be covered.

Uzbekistan

The country’s first FSAP is taking place against the backdrop of a strong and resilient economy. Since 2017, Uzbekistan has been implementing major economic reforms, including exchange rate unification, price liberalization, and enhancements to the business environment. The financial sector has been growing very strongly and the state remains the dominant player. It will assess the system’s risks and vulnerabilities, regulation and supervision framework, and crisis management and safety net arrangements.