On Sunday the much-anticipated announcement from the European Central Bank (ECB) on the result of
its Comprehensive Assessment was released. The exercise, which was
an in depth review of the quality of the largest European
banks' assets that included a review of asset quality and a
stress test, has occupied the attention of banks over the past
several months. Its completion is a significant milestone and a
watershed moment for the
Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), which formally opens for
business on 4 November.
The headline results from the exercise capture banks'
performance against capital thresholds set down by the ECB, and the
European Banking Authority (EBA), which was responsible for the
stress test. As anticipated, several banks (25 in total) have been
found wanting. Nine banks from Italy, three from Greece, three
from Cyprus, two from Slovenia, two from Belgium and one each from
Austria, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France and Germany respectively.
In
