PRA publishes liquidity reform proposals
Executive Summary
The PRA has launched a three-month consultation on modernized liquidity standards designed to ensure banks can rapidly convert liquid assets to cash during stress events, responding directly to lessons from the 2023 collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. Rather than requiring banks to hold more liquid assets, the reforms focus on **operationalizing existing liquidity** through enhanced stress testing, removal of exemptions for sovereign bonds, and improved preparedness for central bank facility access.
What Changed
The consultation proposes four primary regulatory modifications: - Weekly stress testing requirement: Firms must conduct internal stress tests evaluating rapid outflows within one week, supplementing the existing monthly reporting framework - Removal of Level 1 asset exemption: Sovereign bonds and other "level 1 assets" will no longer be exempt from annual testing of monetization capability for non-liquid assets, closing a significant testing gap - Barrier identification mandate: Firms must systematically evaluate their liquidity, identify barriers to asset monetization, and document findings - Central bank facility preparedness: Regulatory encouragement (not mandate) for operational readiness to access Bank of England facilities during stress Critically, the PRA explicitly states these
What You Need To Do
- *Immediate (by April 27, 2026)
- Review the full consultation document and impact assessment
- Identify internal stakeholders (Treasury, Risk, Operations, Compliance) for response coordination
- Assess current liquidity stress testing capabilities against proposed weekly timeframe requirement
- *Medium-term (post-consultation, pre-implementation)
- Develop or enhance internal stress testing models to evaluate one-week rapid outflow scenarios
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Urgency: HIGH
Who is Affected
Summary
The Prudential Regulation Authority has today published proposals aimed at ensuring banks can monetise liquid assets quickly in a fast-paced stress event – such as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023.