ECB, on new mission, sets out bank health tests plan

FRANKFURT | Wed Oct 23, 2013 8:23am BST
(Reuters) - The European Central Bank vowed on Wednesday to submit the euro zone's top banks to a comprehensive batch of tests next year, staking its credibility on a review that aims to build confidence in the sector.

The ECB wants to unearth potential risks hidden in banks' balance sheets before supervision is centralised under its roof from November 2014 as part of a European banking union.

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GBP MPC Official Bank Rate Votes 0-0-9 0-0-9 0-0-9

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Spain out of recession, central bank says

Spain's economy has emerged from recession after growing for the first time in more than two years, according to estimates from the Bank of Spain.

Spain's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.1% between July and September, the bank said.

However, GDP was still 1.2% lower in the quarter compared with the same period last year.

FTSE100 ends range-bound session modestly lower