French finance minister says Europe’s stress tests will show its banks are solid and healthy

Lagarde: Stress tests will show EU banks healthy

AIX-EN-PROVENCE — France’s finance minister says stress tests will show European banks are “solid and healthy.”

European Union leaders have promised to disclose the results of “stress tests” designed to show how banks would do if circumstances worsen.

The U.S. published stress tests in 2009 to show how much capital the country’s 19 biggest banks needed to raise to cope with more losses.

Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told reporters on Sunday that the European banks that will be subjected to the EU tests and the exact criteria will soon be known.

The results will be published around July 23, she said. She added that she is not “worried” about French banks.