On September 26th, it was learned from securities firms that in order to standardize the stress testing management of securities firms' trading settlement systems (hereinafter referred to as "systems"), identify potential bottlenecks in system stability, discover hidden problems, enhance the ability to guarantee system stability, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors, the China Securities Association (hereinafter referred to as "CSIA") recently solicited opinions on the newly drafted "Guidelines for Stress Testing of Securities Companies' Trading Settlement Systems" (hereinafter referred to as "Testing Guidelines"). The "Testing Guidelines" aim to enhance the importance that securities firms attach to stress testing work, promote their continuous improvement of the stress testing management mechanism for trading settlement systems, and thereby enhance the reliability of the securities industry's trading settlement systems. In recent years, with the rapid expansion of trading volume in the securities market, the problem of insufficient performance of securities trading systems has become frequent. In this context, the securities industry urgently needs to improve its performance capacity management capabilities to effectively respond to the impact of market fluctuations. From the perspective of content framework, the "Testing Guidelines" are divided into six chapters with a total of 28 articles, including general principles, basic guarantees and requirements for system stress testing, system stress testing processes and methods, system stress testing reports and applications, self-discipline management, and supplementary provisions. In terms of establishing a sound stress testing guarantee mechanism, the "Testing Guidelines" have put forward clear and specific requirements for securities firms. On the one hand, it is stipulated that securities firms should establish a sound stress testing management mechanism, improve relevant management systems, clarify personnel responsibilities and division of labor, and provide necessary equipment and technical support for stress testing work to ensure the effective configuration and stable operation of testing environments, data resources, and tool platforms. On the other hand, standardizing the management of testing environments, data, and tools, scientifically selecting stress testing scenarios and organizing their implementation, ensuring the authenticity and effectiveness of testing, and comprehensively enhancing the ability to evaluate system performance and stability. It is worth noting that the "Testing Guidelines" require securities firms to conduct system stress testing at least once a year. At the same time, if the following situations occur, securities firms should promptly conduct system stress testing: before the new system is launched or major changes occur; Removing the system offline may have an impact on the performance and capacity of the online system; The market fluctuates greatly, and the system performance capacity may not be able to guarantee safe and stable operation; And other situations where stress testing is deemed necessary. In terms of standardizing the stress testing process and methods, the "Testing Guidelines" clarify the various work steps of securities firms in carrying out stress testing, and establish standardized operating procedures. The specific process includes: clarifying the testing purpose, developing a testing plan, preparing for testing, executing the testing process, analyzing testing data, and submitting and archiving testing reports. At the same time, the 'Testing Guidelines' provide specific requirements and operational methods for the work content of each link mentioned above, ensuring the standardization and effectiveness of stress testing work. In terms of strengthening the reporting and application of stress test results, the "Testing Guidelines" stipulate that securities firms should promptly identify problems and potential risks in system performance, and take practical and effective measures to quickly deal with them. At the same time, the effectiveness and applicability of stress testing methods should be regularly evaluated, and the stress testing management mechanism should be continuously improved. On this basis, further clarify the content requirements of the stress test report and strengthen relevant document management to ensure the standardization, completeness, and traceability of test materials, reports, and other documents. At the same time, the China Securities Association will strengthen its self regulatory management of stress testing work, continuously improve the industry's trading settlement system stress testing system, enhance the overall risk prevention and control level, and lay a solid foundation for building a safe, efficient, and stable capital market system. (New Society)