LONDON, Jan. 21 -- The Bank of England said yesterday it is tweaking stress tests on the UK banking sector this year to include fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The BoE, which tests the ability of lenders' balance sheets to withstand shocks, said its worst-case Covid-19 scenario would see the economy collapse by 37 per cent from its pre-pandemic level in 2019 to the end of 2022.

"The aim of the 2021 solvency stress test differs from a standard stress test, which is to ensure that banks have built up buffers of capital, ready to be drawn on to support the economy in a stress," a BoE statement said.

It did not specify when results would be published.

"The focus this year will be to inform judgements about the most appropriate ways...