Five Spanish Banks Fail EU Stress Tests

 

Eight of the 90 EU Banks failed yesterday's stress tests - five of which are Spanish - with a further 16 only passing by a slim margin.

The tests analysed data from 90 banks across 21 countries and represented 65% of the assets in Europe's banking sector. Five Banks on Spain failed the tests. together with two in Greece, one in Austria and one in Germany. Although the number given here reached nine, the German result is being reviewed following an appeal by the Bank.

The five Spanish banks that failed the stress test did not come as any great surprise to market observers, however the Bank of Spain said they would not need additional capital because the sector was already being restructured.

Of the five banks, four were regional savings banks, otherwise known as 'Cajas' : Caja Mediterraneo (CAM), Catalunya Caixa, Unmin and Caja Tres – along with Banco Pastor. A further seven other banks only just reached the minimum requirement of the core tier 1 capital ratio of 5%. A total of 25 Spanish banks were tested, the largest number of any country. Bank of Spain governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said the results were "what we expected."