FRTB P&L attribution tests and backtesting

These pages describe the implementation (that is, the cube specification and file formats) of P&L Attribution Tests and Backtesting in Atoti FRTB.

Supported use cases

The P&L Attribution Tests and Backtesting have been designed to enable the following use cases.

Monitoring historical VaR and P&L values at the desk and firm-wide¹ levels, as required by regulation.
Calculating desk and firm-wide VaR values from trade level VaR P&L vectors.
Customizing² trade level inputs and analytics to support analyzing recent exceptions/outliers.

The definitions below follow regulatory guidance³.

Term	Definition
T-1	the most recent close of business. This is the AsOfDate in the cube. T-n: close of business for the nth preceding business day.
Actual P&L [APL]	As-of T-1, the daily P&L (from T-2 to T-1) of the desk (or firm-wide) based on actual prices⁴ and including trading activity⁵.
Hypothetical P&L [HPL]	As-of T-1, the daily P&L value (from T-2 to T-1) of the desk (or firm-wide) based on actual prices for the T-2 portfolio⁶.
Risk-Theoretical P&L [RTPL]	As-of T-1, the daily P&L (from T-2 to T-1) of the desk (or firm-wide) based on model-generated prices for the T-2 portfolio.
VaR measures	As-of T-1, the model-generated one-day value-at-risk measures for the T-1 portfolio. Note: The as-of T-1 VaR measures are interpreted as a prediction of P&L for COB T. So, when comparing with the P&L values, the VaR measures need to be shifted by one day.
p-values⁷	As-of T-1, the empirical probability of observing a profit that is less than (or loss greater than) the actual (or hypothetical) P&L⁸.

All IMA desks (that is, excluding SA desks), as per the FAQ: BCBS 395 section 2.7 Q1. ↩︎
This use case relies heavily on custom inputs (for example, asset class) beyond what can be included in the Solution. ↩︎
Based on BCBS 352 paragraph 183 and Appendix B; BCBS 395/437 FAQs; and clarifications in BCBS 436. ↩︎
From BCBS 352 Appendix B: “the mark-to-market value of the trading desk’s instruments derived from the bank’s pricing models including all risk factors”. ↩︎
Excluding fees and commissions. ↩︎
Assuming no trading activity (from T-2 to T-1). ↩︎
Not required by regulations, but mentioned in BCBS 352 paragraph 182 (b) as something the supervisor may request. ↩︎
According to the model ↩︎