Madrid.As many as six Spanish banks have failed the European stress tests, including five savings banks and one medium-sized bank, ABC newpaper reported yesterday, citing unnamed sources.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) will publish stress test results for 91 of the region's top lenders at 5pm on Friday, July 15.
Spain's Economy Minister Elena Salgado said on Monday some banks had failed the tests as generic provisions -- cash put aside by the banks to cover potential losses -- would not be counted as core capital.
Spain's banks held some 27 billion euros in generic provisions at the end of March.
No-one at the Bank of Spain was immediately available for comment but few experts are denying that Spain's financial system is still extremely weak and is struggling to hold up under the pressure from Italy and Greece. Friday could prove crucial.
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