European Central Bank

Greek banks received what amounts to a virtually clean bill of health from the European Central Bank, as the results of the stress tests Frankfurt performed on the four systemic lenders of this country showed on Sunday that Alpha and Piraeus have completed the exercise successfully through their dynamic picture, and only Eurobank and National need to cover the negligible amount of 291 million e

The European Union leaders’ summit concluded in Brussels on Friday without any concrete decisions having been taken about Greece’s economic future despite Prime Minister Antonis Samaras holding a series with top officials.

A group of 25 banks have failed European health checks, while up to 10 of those continue to have a capital shortfall, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday, providing a snapshot of the health of the region’s lenders.

By Nicholas Comfort

The euro area’s biggest banks will show a 6 billion-euro ($7.6 billion) capital gap in the European Central Bank’s tests of the quality of their assets and ability to withstand economic shocks, said Citigroup Inc.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and incoming European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker discussed on Thursday the broad strokes of Greece’s plan for emerging from its loan program as well as a pending review by the troika, which must be completed before such an exit can occur, on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels.

Yields on lower-rated eurozone government bonds retreated further on Wednesday from highs hit last week as the possibility of European Central Bank purchases of corporate bonds brought riskier assets back into favor.

 Efe had reported that three Greek banks have failed health checks

The European Central Bank cautioned on Wednesday against speculation over the outcome of its stress tests after a media report said at least 11 banks had failed the landmark financial health checks, driving some banking shares lower.

By Yiannis Papadoyiannis

Analysts, investment banks and institutional investors appear optimistic regarding the results of the European Central Bank stress tests on local lenders, which has been mirrored in the performance of bank stocks so far this week. The message is that they expect the capital requirements to be announced this Sunday to be small and manageable.

Low-rated eurozone bond yields fell on Tuesday after several sources told Reuters the European Central Bank was considering buying corporate bonds, quelling some concerns that the ECB was not doing enough to stoke inflation and growth.

The third straight day of Greek stock market gains brought the benchmark close to the 1,000-point mark on Tuesday, as investors are pricing in expectations for a very positive result to the European Central Bank’s stress tests on local banks, which are to be announced this Sunday. The increased turnover points to an extensive move to cancel out last week’s major losses.