Portuguese banks pass EU stress tests: central bank

The four main Portuguese banks passed EU stress tests, the Bank of Portugal said on Friday.

But the central bank said that the two biggest private banks in the country, BCP and BES banks, had to “raise capital or sell assets” within three months.

“All the Portuguese banking groups have shown themselves capable of absorbing a combination of particularly serious economic and financial shocks that one can expect in a crisis scenario,” said a Bank of Portugal statement.

However the BCP and BES had to implement “appropriate measures to strengthen their balance sheets within three months” either by increasing their capital or selling assets, the central bank added.