Single Resolution Board calls for joint cross-sector resolution readiness at FSB ReSolve event

In a speech for the Financial Stability Board's ReSolve event, the Single Resolution Board called for resolution authorities to move from sector-specific preparedness to what it described as joint readiness across banking, insurance and central counterparties. The remarks presented the event as the first cross-sector meeting of Cross-Border Crisis Management groups and argued that increasing interconnectedness means authorities need to prepare for stress and resolution actions that can spread across institutions, jurisdictions and sectors. The speech drew on lessons from the 2008 crisis, including the fallout from Lehman Brothers, the rescue of AIG and the need to preserve the functioning of financial market infrastructures, as evidence that contagion channels can emerge quickly and unexpectedly beyond the banking sector. It highlighted unresolved practical questions about whether the resolution of a bank could put an insurer or a central counterparty under stress, and whether distress or resolution at an insurer or a financial market infrastructure could have unintended consequences for banks. It also stressed that legal frameworks, resolution plans and policy standards are not sufficient on their own, and that credible resolution regimes require operational readiness through resolvability assessments, stronger capabilities, the removal of impediments and cross-border exercises, alongside consistent implementation of the Financial Stability Board's Key Attributes. For the two-day event, participants were encouraged to use the forum to compare implementation experience, challenge assumptions and deepen their understanding of cross-sector interdependencies, with the aim of improving collective crisis preparedness.