An independent study of the financial costs and benefits of Wall Street “stress tests” could be released as soon as today and may strengthen calls to reform U.S. banking rules, Reuters reported. The Federal Reserve conducts a review each year of how the largest U.S. banks might fare during a financial crisis and the Government Accountability Office has been studying that work for two years. The report will suggest about 15 ways that the Federal Reserve would be able to improve the openness of its yearly review and reduce some of the regulatory burden. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, asked for the study in September 2014 and has urged the Fed to cooperate. In May, Hensarling wrote to Fed Chair Janet Yellen, saying the central bank's annual reviews "lack transparency" and the stress tests might be too driven by global banking standards. The annual stress tests are part of the Dodd Frank financial reform legislation of 2010.
