A final rule outlining how stress testing required by the Dodd-Frank Act will be implemented was published by federal banking regulators on Tuesday.

The rule, announced by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, implements annual, company-run stress testing requirements found in Section 165 of the legislation. It applies to financial companies, under the purview of a  federal financial regulator, that have total consolidated assets of more than $10 billion must conduct an

The rule requires institutions with average total consolidated assets of $50 billion or greater to begin conducting stress tests this year, although regulators have the authority to allow delays on a case-by-case basis. Institutions will use their data as of Sept. 30, 2012, to conduct the stress test and results must be reported in January. Stress testing scenarios and additional guidance are expected to be released by regulators in mid-November.

For covered institutions with total consolidated assets between $10 billion and $50 billion, the rule delays implementation until October 2013.

The FDIC Board also announced approval of a final rule that refines the deposit insurance assessment system for institutions with more than $10 billion in assets. As of June 30, 2012, there were 108 such institutions.

The rule amends the definitions used to identify concentrations in higher-risk assets to better reflect the risk posed to institutions and, in turn, the FDIC.

In a statement, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said it will be important, going forward, for his agency, the FDIC, and Federal Reserve staff to work closely together on remaining elements, among them finishing the reporting templates, developing stress scenarios each year, and providing guidance to banks and savings associations. The agencies will also need to coordinate their supervisory approaches to companies affected by the rule, particularly when banks or thrifts with different primary supervisors are part of the same holding company.

“Comments, particularly from smaller institutions, pointed out that initial compliance with this rule may be challenging,” Curry said. “Many of the changes to the final rule were designed to address those concerns.”

He said the timeline in the final rule “strikes the right balance,” as institutions with $50 billion in assets or more will implement first, while smaller ones “will have additional time to complete the stress tests each year, which will make the results more reliable by giving them the time to do it right.”