Seven European banks fail stress test

Seven European banks would not be strong enough to withstand another recession. They would face a capital shortfall of 3.5 billion euros ($4.5 billion).Tests were run in an attempt to revive investor confidence showed on Friday, but have obviously not succeeded.

Five of Spain’s smaller regional lenders, known as cajas, failed the test and their recapitalization 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.

No big banks failed the test.

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 U.S. banks last year that helped restore investor confidence and underpinned a recovery by bank shares.

Well, see you next year?