Text: EU Statement on Stress Tests of 91 European Banks

By Edward Harrison On Jul 7, 2010

The following is the press release released by the EU on the subject of the European Bank Stress Tests. There will be 91 institutions undergoing the tests. I have provided a list of the specific institutions below.

The greatest number of banks come from Spain. Together the banks hold 65% of Europe’s banking assets. Greatest interest will probably be in the Spanish and German banks.

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LONDON (MNI) – The following is a statement issued Wednesday by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors providing further information on the EU-wide stress test exercise which is now being finalised by CEBS and the national supervisory authorities, in close cooperation with the ECB:

The objective of the extended stress test exercise is to assess the overall resilience of the EU banking sector and the banks’ ability to absorb further possible shocks on credit and market risks, including sovereign risks, and to assess the current dependence on public support measures.

The exercise is being conducted on a bank-by-bank basis using commonly agreed macro-economic scenarios (baseline and adverse) for 2010 and 2011, developed in close cooperation with the ECB and the European Commission.

The macro-economic scenarios include a set of key macro-economic variables (e.g. the evolution of GDP, of unemployment and of the consumer price index), differentiated for EU Member States, the rest of the EEA countries and the US. The exercise also envisages adverse conditions in financial markets and a shock on interest rates to capture an increase in risk premia linked to a deterioration in the EU government bond markets.

On aggregate, the adverse scenario assumes a 3 percentage point deviation of GDP for the EU compared to the European Commission’s forecasts over the two-year time horizon. The sovereign risk shock in the EU represents a deterioration of market conditions as compared to the situation observed in early May 2010.

The scope of the stress testing exercise has been extended to include not only the major EU cross-border banking groups but also key domestic credit institutions in Europe. The banks that have been included in the exercise are listed in the Annex. In each EU Member State, the sample has been built by including banks, in descending order of size, so as to cover at least 50% of the national banking sector, as expressed in terms of total assets. For the EU banking sector as a whole, the 91 banks represent 65% of the EU banking sector. Banking groups have been tested on a consolidated level. This means that subsidiaries and branches of an EU cross-border banking group have been included in the exercise as a part of the test of the group as a whole.

The results of the stress test will be disclosed, both on an aggregated and on a bank-by-bank basis, on 23 July 2010.

It should be noted that a stress testing exercise does not provide forecasts of expected outcomes, but rather a what-if analysis aimed at supporting the supervisory assessment of the adequacy of capital of European banks.

Background The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) is composed of high level representatives from the banking supervisory authorities and central banks of the European Union. CEBS’s main tasks are to advise the European Commission in the field of banking activities, to contribute to the consistent implementation of Community Directives and to the convergence of supervisory practices, and to enhance supervisory co-operation.

CEBS is also mandated to perform and provide regularly to the European Commission and other EU institutions, forward-looking assessments of micro-prudential trends, potential risks and vulnerabilities in the banking sector, conducted on a bottom-up basis and based notably on the information gathered from colleges of supervisors.

CEBS was mandated by the ECOFIN, in December 2009, to coordinate a second EU-wide stress testing exercise of the banking system, which was extended by the EU Council in June.

Banks known to be in the list include:

Austria

Erste Group Bank AG
Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich AG

Belgium

KBC Group SA
Dexia

Cyprus

Marfin Popular Bank
Bank of Cyprus

Denmark

Danske Bank
Jyske Bank A/S
Sydbank A/S

Finland

Op-Pohjola Group

France

BNP Paribas SA
Societe Generale SA
Credit Agricole
BPCE

Germany

Deutsche Bank AG
Commerzbank AG
Hypo Real Estate Holding AG
HSH Nordbank AG
WestLB AG
Bayerische Landesbank
Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg
Norddeutsche Landesbank
Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen
Landesbank Berlin AG
Deutsche Postbank AG
DZ Bank
Dekabank
WGZ Bank

Greece

National Bank of Greece
EFG Eurobank Ergasias
Alpha Bank
Piraeus Bank
Agricultural Bank of Greece
TT Hellenic Postbank

Hungary

OTP Bank
Jelzalogbank

Ireland

Bank of Ireland
Allied Irish Bank

Italy

Unicredit
Intesa Sanpaolo
Banca Monte Dei Paschi di Siena
UBI Banca
Banco Popolare

Luxembourg

Banque et Caisse D’Epargne de L’Etat
Banque Raiffeisen

Malta

Bank of Valletta

Netherlands

Rabobank
ABN/Fortis
SNS Bank

Poland

Powszechna Kasa

Portugal

Banco Comercial Português
Caixa Geral de Depositos
EspiritoSanto Financial Group
Banco BPI

Slovenia

Nova Ljubljanska Banka

Spain

Banco Santander SA
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA
Banco Popular Español
Banco de Sabadell
CAM Group
Bankinter SA
Jupiter
Banco Pastor
Banco Guipuzocoano
Banca March
La Caixa
Caixa D’Estalvis de Pollensa
Caja de Ahorros de Zaragoza, Aragon y Rioja
Caja de Ahorros de Gipuzkoa y San Sebastian
Caja de Ahorros de Cordoba
Caja de Ahorros de Vitoria y Alava
Caja de Ahorros de Ontinyent
Caja Sol
CAI
Breogan
Mare Nostrum
Espiga
Banca Civica
Antequera y Jaen
Bilbao Bizkaia
Unnim

Sweden

Nordea Bank
SEB
Handelsbanken
Swedbank

HSBC Holdings Plc
Lloyds Banking Group Plc
Barclays Plc
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc

See The largest European banks by assets for a list of the largest European banks by assets.

Update: I also see that FT Alphaville has the list here.