7 more Slovenian banks ordered to take stress tests

Seven more banks in Slovenia have been ordered to have stress tests and asset reviews following initial reviews of the three biggest banks in the country earlier this year, Slovenia's central bank Banka Slovenije announced Monday. In cooperation with the Slovenian government and the European Union's demand, the results of the tests and reviews for the 10 banks will be available by the end of this year. With the new move, smaller banks including Banka Celje, Gorenjska banka and Unicredit banka Slovenija will be subjected to stress tests along with the three biggest banks in Slovenia -- Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM), and Abanka Vipa Apart from Slovenia's government and central bank, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the European Banking Authority will be involved in the inspections. Slovenia is reportedly shouldering some 7 billion euros (9 billion U.S. dollars) of bad loans, equal to about 20 percent of GDP of the country, raising fears the former Yugoslav country might seek a bailout.