WASHINGTON: The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission welcome the publication of the results of the EU-wide stress-testing exercise, which was prepared and conducted by the CEBS and national supervisory authorities, in close cooperation with the ECB.

We support, in particular, the transparency of this exercise, given the specific market circumstances under which banks currently operate. We therefore welcome the publication of banks' individual results, particularly their respective capital positions and loss estimates under an adverse scenario, as well as detailed information on banks' exposures to EU/EEA central and local government debt. Such disclosures ensure transparency regarding conditions in the EU banking sector.

The adverse scenarios used in the stress test are designed as "what-if" scenarios reflecting severe assumptions which are therefore not very likely to materialize in practice. Accordingly, the results of the test confirm the overall resilience of the EU banking system to negative macroeconomic and financial shocks, and are an important step forward in restoring market confidence.

Where the results of the exercise indicate that individual banks require additional capital, these banks should take the necessary steps to reinforce their capital positions through private-sector means and by resorting, if necessary, to facilities set up by Member State governments, in full compliance with EU state-aid rules.