EU Banks Won't Undergo Stress Tests In 2015: EBA

European banks will not face an EU-wide stress test in 2015, the region's banking watchdog said Tuesday. Instead of undergoing an inspection of their balance sheets, financial institutions will be the focus of a transparency exercise similar to that carried out in 2013, which will still deliver data on the banks' portfolios, the European Banking Authority said in a statement posted online. "The decision not to run an EU-wide stress test in 2015 was driven by an acknowledgement of the progress that EU-banks have made in strengthening their capital positions in response to the 2014 asset quality reviews and EU-wide stress test," the EBA said. The authority said it will start preparing for its next exercise in 2016.