SINGAPORE (MNI) – Some banks under-reported their exposure to risky
government debt in stress tests performed on 91 European banks, the Wall
Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The paper said its analysis showed “some banks didn’t provide as
comprehensive a picture of their government-debt holdings as regulators
claimed. Some banks excluded certain bonds, and many reduced the sums to
account for ‘short’ positions they held — facts that neither regulators
nor most banks disclosed when the test results were published in late
July.”

The Journal said it was not possible to determine how many banks
under-reported their holdings but it named Barclays PLC and Credit
Agricole SA as two banks that industry officials and financial
disclosures showed had reduced their exposure to government debt by a
“significant amount” in the stress test filings.

The newspaper quoted representatives of several banks as saying
they followed the guidance of the Committee of European Banking
Supervisors, who administered the tests, in making their filings.

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