Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, has sent a letter to Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman asking the Fed to immediately update its 2026 bank stress testing scenarios before the June stress test results are released. She argues that the Fed reduced the oil price shock in the 2026 scenarios just before a major oil shock unfolded and says the scenarios should be adjusted to test a 140 percent increase in oil prices. Warren says stress tests should remain forward-looking assessments of how large banks would perform under a severely adverse economic scenario and warns that weaker scenarios leave banks and the public less prepared for economic crises. Her letter also asks the Fed to explain why it weakened the oil price shock and other parts of the stress testing framework, which she links to pressure from the banking industry. She states that the Fed has only begun calculating the results, which are due to be published at the end of June, and asks it to notify the public by June 2, 2026 if it raises the oil price shock to at least 140 percent.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs2026-05-20
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs ranking member calls on Federal Reserve to revise 2026 stress tests for a 140 percent oil price shock
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, has urged Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman to revise the 2026 bank stress testing scenarios to incorporate a 140 percent oil price shock before results are released in June. She argues that the Federal Reserve weakened the oil shock and other elements of the stress testing framework under industry pressure, undermining the tests’ forward-looking nature and leaving banks and the public less prepared for crises.