Financial infrastructures get guidance on business loss buffers
Global standard setters CPMI and IOSCO published final guidance on October 14, 2026, for financial market infrastructures managing general business risks and losses. It covers equity-funded liquid assets, governance and transparency.
Equity buffers for business losses
The Bank for International Settlements' Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) set out guidance for financial market infrastructures (FMIs) and relevant authorities.
The report covers identifying, monitoring and managing general business risks.
It also addresses how FMIs determine the minimum amount of liquid net assets funded by equity to hold against potential general business losses.
Governance and transparency form the third area of guidance.
The report includes the management of these risks and losses during recovery and orderly wind-down.
Principle 15 under scrutiny
The final report supplements the CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI) and builds on the consultation published in November 2025.
It takes account of a Level 3 assessment of implementation of PFMI Principle 15 on general business risk.
That assessment identified issues in FMIs' management of general business risks and the equity-funded liquid net assets they hold to cover potential losses.
CPMI and IOSCO also made consultation responses available.
Buffers meet recovery planning
The guidance links business risk management to resources for absorbing losses.
Its scope extends beyond ongoing operations to recovery and orderly wind-down.
For FMIs and authorities, the focus is equity-funded liquidity, governance and transparency.