Testing The Banks

Daniel Gross doesn't put much stock in the stress tests:

... the government wants banks to pass to show they can raise capital from the private sector, if needed, and to show they can issue debt that isn't guaranteed by the government before they're allowed to pay back their TARP money. In other words, the feds want banks to prove to the world that the market views them as viable financial institutions that can function without taxpayer-provided crutches. Ultimately, that's a market test, not a government test.