Stressed By The Test
So remember that totally crazy rumor everyone thought was insane to the effect that pretty much all of the banks (16 of 19) failed the stress tests? Or were "technically insolvent," whatever that means? That rumor seems to have originated with a April 19th weblog entry from Turner Radio Network listing 7 facts about the stress tests and summarizing with "Put bluntly, the entire US Banking System is in complete and total collapse." Well, that eventually looked like a total hoax- intended to be outlandish for the shockingly poor results turned in by the banks tested. But apparently the real results aren't particularly fantastic either. Specifically:
About 10 of the 19 largest U.S. banks being stress tested will be instructed by regulators to raise more capital, according to a source familiar with official talks.
The banks have been negotiating with their regulators about the depth of their capital needs, should the recession prove to be deeper and longer than anticipated. Markets have been anxiously anticipating the results, which will differentiate the strongest banks from those still expected to sustain considerable credit losses.
What could be a more perfect opportunity for the DecaSplit 10 unit splitscreen segment on CNBC? Reuters managed only eight (and since the exact list of the failuresbanks needing further assistance from various agencies and the gracious demeanor of the American public hasn't been released yet, these might not even vaguely resemble the real list. Well except for Ken Lewis. And Count Vikula) so CNBC has a huge opening here.
About 10 U.S. stress test banks to need more capital [Reuters]
