What Goldman’s appeal victory means for Fed stress tests

Decision could embolden more banks to appeal, analysts say. But others believe result is one-off

Ninth time lucky.

Ever since the Federal Reserve permitted US lenders to challenge the results of its annual stress tests in 2020, banks have lodged eight appeals, all unsuccessful.

Then in August an appeal by Goldman Sachs was accepted by the Fed – partially, with two out of four complaints upheld and a resulting adjustment in the bank’s stress capital buffer.

The debate now unfolding among market participants and regulatory experts is whether the successful appeal is a one-off, or if there are