Bergmann Co International European Bank Stress Test Results

Online, August 1, 2011 (Newswire.com) - "Bergmann & Co International": Investors will apparently know just how well their financial institution or bank is able to weather a sovereign default by Greece or any other EU peripheral nation by the end of the day but analysts at "Bergmann & Co International" believe that it is the assets held off the balance sheets that are of the greatest concern.

"Our scepticism is borne out of the ease with which many of these institutions passed the previous round of tests and then, within months, the Irish banking system was on its knees," said one "Bergmann & Co International" analyst.

The company is also concerned about the billions in toxic mortgage-backed securities banks hold that are no longer required to be marked-to-market.

These were the controversial assets that were at the center of the original credit crunch in 2007. Regulators eased rules that required banks to mark the assets to market value since it was nigh on impossible to value them any longer.

"Frankly, even the banks that do pass the more rigorous criteria of this round of stress tests are nowhere near safe. The banking system is so inter-connected that even if one bank has lent nothing to Greece, there is a good chance that it has lent money to another bank which does have exposure," said the "Bergmann & Co International" analyst.

"Our scepticism is borne out of the ease with which many of these institutions passed the previous round of tests and then, within months, the Irish banking system was on its knees," said one "Bergmann & Co International" analyst.

The company is also concerned about the billions in toxic mortgage-backed securities banks hold that are no longer required to be marked-to-market.

These were the controversial assets that were at the center of the original credit crunch in 2007. Regulators eased rules that required banks to mark the assets to market value since it was nigh on impossible to value them any longer.