Stress tests, scheduled to be revealed after European markets close on Friday, that were conducted on 90 European banks are expected to show that 10 of those banks would need more capital if they were to make it through an extended recession. Some of those banks were already working to build their reserves, despite the fact that the action comes too late to affect the test results.
Reuters reported that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was critical of recapitalization done to bolster European banks, saying that it was taking too long to boost capital and that the U.S. had done more since the beginning of the financial crisis to strengthen its banks.
Although the move will not better its results, Volksbanken in Austria, one of the banks said to have failed, sold its eastern European division to Sberbank of Russia on Thursday, reportedly for approximately 590 million euros ($835 million). EFG Eurobank of Greece announced that talks were underway regarding the sale of a majority stake in its Turkish unit Eurobank Tekfen.