FRANKFURT — Recent improvements in the health of European banks could be undercut by weaker-than-expected growth and the side effects of the sovereign debt crisis, the European Central Bank said Monday in a report that cataloged in sometimes alarming detail the problems facing the region’s financial institutions.
While banks in the euro area have recovered some of their profitability in recent months, they remain vulnerable to a daunting array of hazards including exposure to a weakening commercial property market, economic problems in eastern European countries, and the banks’ own massive refinancing needs that will collide with government demand for debt, the E.C.B. said.
Full story: Europe’s Banks at Risk From Slower Growth, E.C.B. Says – NYTimes.com