Regular financial crisis simulation exercises are a key part of the development of the authorities’ crisis management capabilities. The exercises are used to assess crisis management preparedness and to learn together with others. Identifying areas that need to be further developed is always an essential part of the simulations.
The authorities responsible for financial stability in the Nordic and Baltic countries tested their preparedness for a potential crisis situation in September 2024. The Nordic Baltic Stability Group (NBSG) published a final report on the simulation on 1 April 2025. The report aims to raise awareness of what organising a large-scale simulation involves in the preparation and implementation phases. The report also briefly describes the decisions taken by the authorities during the simulation.
Making use of lessons learned based on risks
During the NBSG simulation, the FFSA experts participating in the simulation recorded their observations on how the available tools, instructions and processes worked. The observations were used to determine what further development work is necessary to develop crisis management capabilities.
As a part of documenting the FFSA’s further development measures, the risks associated with the identified development needs were assessed. In addition, the importance of development for crisis management capabilites and the extent of these development efforts were assessed. Based on the assessed follow-up measures, the FFSA has prioritised various development measures and determined responsible persons and schedules for them. In targeting the development measures, the focus will be on pressure testing the tools, instructions, and processes updated based on the observations from last autumn’s exercise in the following exercise.
A comprehensive training programme includes various exercises
The comprehensive training programme consists of considerably different exercises, and the FFSA has been actively involved in these exercises for several years, both in the role of the organisation responsible for organising the exercises and one participating in them.
The NBSG crisis simulation exercise was a large, full-scale cross-border exercise involving numerous authorities, focusing on cooperation between the authorities and coordination of their activities. The last time a similar crisis simulation was arranged was in 2019. Over the years, the FFSA has also participated in joint exercises of national financial market authorities and served as an observer in exercises organised by the Single Resolution Board (SRB). In the development of crisis management capabilities, co-learning between authorities is an effective approach.
The FFSA’s internal exercises have ranged from workshops to process walkthroughs and limited exercises focusing on an individual theme to extensive, full-scale exercises. Diverse practising and a focus on different areas in the exercises ensure the strengthening of the authority’s functional capacity in various crisis situations. During 2025, the FFSA will carry out internal exercises, for example, on the implementation of the sales process of a bank carried out during a crisis situation.
In addition to training carried out between the authorities, banks are increasingly testing their crisis resolution capabilities, either independently or in joint exercises with the authorities. The testing carried out by the banks aims to ensure that the built capabilities are appropriate and maintained.
Together, the various exercises conducted by banks and authorities help ensure that potential crisis situations are managed as smoothly as possible.
More information: Fanni Teinilä, Legal Counsel, firstname.lastname(at)rahoitusvakausvirasto.fi
Read the entire report: Nordic Baltic Stability Group Report on the 2024 Financial Crisis Simulation Exercise
More info about the Nordic Baltic Crisis Simulation Exercise 2024
Futher information about the resolution capabilites of Finnish banks in FFSA's recent report
Read more about the FFSA’s current topics on our website
