Fed details next round of big banks' stress tests

[November 16, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve says the nation's biggest banks will be tested next year on their ability to survive not only a severe U.S. recession but also a global downturn.

The latest round of "stress tests" will test how the banks would handle recessions in Europe and Japan and severe slowdowns in other Asian countries including China.

Under the Fed's most severe scenario, the United States would undergo a recession in which unemployment would reach nearly 12 percent, stocks would lose half their value and home prices would plunge 20 percent.

The nation's 19 biggest banks must submit reports on how they would fare under various scenarios. The central bank will release the results by late March.

The Fed has conducted stress tests of the banks every year since 2009.

[Associated Press; By MARTIN CRUTSINGER]

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