Greek banks pass the stress tests

The critical results of European bank stress tests finally saw the light of day and they were surprising. The surprises concerned on those that were “cut” - a total of 8 banks across Europe, those who passed, yet with a “score” that automatically requires them to have their capital directly enhanced and, finally, the structure of the portfolios of several large names of the European banking scene.

In detail, of 91 European banks that participated in the tests, 7 Spanish, 2 German and 2 Portuguese banks require capital aid. The total capital deficit the failed banks are required to cover is 2.5 billion euro, whereas 20 more banks would not have “passed” without state capital aid.

The remarkable fact is that the process was negotiated successfully by ALL Portuguese, French and Irish banks, while one Austrian bank (Volksbanken) and 5 Spanish ones (including Catalunya Caixa and Banco Pastor) did not pass. The impressive Core Tier 1 of 10.4% of Belgian DEXIA renders it the European champion!

Bank	Core Tier 1 on 31.12.2012
National Bank	9,7%
Alpha Bank	8,2%
PostBank	7,1%
Piraeus Bank	6,3%
Eurobank EFG	7,6%
Agrotiki Bank	6,0%
Total capital surplus against the 5% limit	¤ 5,05 billion euros