LONDON/MADRID: Seven European banks would not be strong enough to withstand another recession and would face a capital shortfall of 3.5 billion euros ($4.5 billion), tests run in an attempt to revive investor confidence showed on Friday.
Five of Spain's smaller regional lenders, known as cajas, failed the test and their recapitalisation is likely to speed a restructuring of the troubled sector.
Banks in Germany and Greece were also seen as weak spots and in need of restructuring, but state-owned Hypo Real Estate was the only German lender to flunk and state-controlled ATEbank was the only Greek bank to fail.
Analysts had expected five to 10 banks to fail the test. As expected, no big banks failed the health check. German government bond futures hit one-month lows and the euro briefly pared its losses against the dollar after the results were released.
Europe tested how 91 banks would cope with another recession and losses on government debt after the Greek crisis hit markets and raised fears the euro zone could unravel. It aimed to repeat a health check on US banks last year that helped restore investor confidence and underpinned a recovery by bank shares.
Five of Spain's smaller regional lenders, known as cajas, failed the test and their recapitalisation is likely to speed a restructuring of the troubled sector.
Banks in Germany and Greece were also seen as weak spots and in need of restructuring, but state-owned Hypo Real Estate was the only German lender to flunk and state-controlled ATEbank was the only Greek bank to fail.
Analysts had expected five to 10 banks to fail the test. As expected, no big banks failed the health check. German government bond futures hit one-month lows and the euro briefly pared its losses against the dollar after the results were released.
Europe tested how 91 banks would cope with another recession and losses on government debt after the Greek crisis hit markets and raised fears the euro zone could unravel. It aimed to repeat a health check on US banks last year that helped restore investor confidence and underpinned a recovery by bank shares.
