Stress tests for 91 banks all across EU to be published later today

Results for a total of 91 banks across Europe, including Maltese bank Bank of Valletta (BOV) would be made public, in a move designed to reassure investors over the health of Europe's financial sectors.

The tests assessed whether banks would be able to survive future economic shocks.

The UK's four major banks, RBS, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays, were among those tested.

The UK’s Financial Services Authority had already said it expected the UK banks to pass the tests.

Savings banks in Germany and Spain, deemed more fragile by many analysts, were also included, with a total of 27 Spanish banks subject to testing.

Spanish regional lenders in particular were a cause for concern, having racked up heavy losses following the collapse of the Spanish property market.

Spain's El Pais newspaper reported this morning that several of Spain's savings banks, including some of those that had been involved in recent mergers, had failed to pass tests.

However, professor of economics at Madrid's San Pablo University Pedro Swartz was quoted as saying that it was well known that a couple of the country's smaller banks would fail.

"This is an x-ray of the whole Spanish banking system, but I do not think there will be failure of the larger banks," he insisted.

Santander, which had extensive interests in the UK, would "pass with flying colours," Swartz added.

German banks, several of which struggled during the financial crisis, should "all in all" perform well, said Manfred Weber, the head of the Association of German Banks.