DFAST 2026 softens again, but SCB freeze blocks capital gains

- By Joshua Walker
- 11 Feb 2026

The Dodd-Frank Act stress tests (DFAST) for 2026 will be based on a broadly gentler scenario than the 2025 cycle – itself a relatively lenient year that delivered record reductions in stress capital buffers. But banks are unlikely to see any capital benefits, as SCBs have been frozen at current levels until 2027 for the first time since the metric was introduced.

Under the 2026 scenario, real GDP

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