A European Union-wide banking stress test exercise has been conducted by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors every year since 2009.
The Council of the European Union (in its economic and financial – ECOFIN – configuration) mandated that Committee so to do, in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 financial crisis.
The 2010 test was the second of its kind, which assesses the financial strength of European banks under different adverse scenarios.
This was done in co-operation with the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the national supervisory authorities of the member states.
[1] Of the 90 banks tested, 7 failed the 6% tier 1 capital ratio threshold: five in Spain (Unnim, Diada, Espiga, Banca Cívica, and Cajasur), one in Germany (Hypo Real Estate), and one in Greece (ATEBank).