French and most European banks pass stress test
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Seven of 91 European would not survive another recession according to the results of stress tests released Friday.All four major French banks examined passed with a clean bill of health, the governor of France's central bank said on Friday. BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BPCE passed the financial stability tests for lenders "with success," said the governor of the Bank of France, Christian Noyer.
French banks "really have a strong capacity for resistance," Noyer said.
The four lenders were among 91 European banks examined by EU authorities to test their ability to resist another financial crisis.
The European Union's Belgian presidency on Friday hailed the "high degree of resilience" of the European banking sector after just seven of 91 banks failed so-called "stress tests."
Hypo Real Estate in Germany, five regional lenders in Spain and a bank in Greece were deemed to need increased capital after tests the Belgians said were "conducted rigorously."
Some banks are already being helped by exceptional measures by the European Central Bank, including the purchase of some government bonds.
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