By Robert Hetz and Dominic Lau
MADRID/LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's attempt to restore confidence in its banks comes to a head on Friday with widespread expectation that up to 10 lenders will fail the exam and have to raise capital.
Regulators have been looking at how banks would withstand another recession in an exercise similar to one in the United States last year which helped restore bank sector confidence.
Some 91 lenders from 20 of the EU's 27 countries are involved and results are due at 1600 GMT (12 p.m. EDT).
"I am afraid that the level of transparency won't be that great. I'm very skeptical about the whole thing," said John Anderson, head of credit at fund manager Gartmore. "It's not just about a headline number, it's the whole methodology."
A survey conducted by Goldman Sachs of 376 investors including hedge funds and long-only investors produced an average estimate of 10 banks needing some 38 billion euros ($48.93 billion) in fresh capital.
Banks in Spain, Germany and Greece are most likely to raise cash, it said.
Other analysts looking at which banks might need new capital expect 5-10 banks to come up short on the tests, and some even fewer.
"If recent leaks are to be believed, the European "tickle stick" will prompt capital raisings by fewer banks than you can count on the fingers of one hand," Justin Bisseker, a bank analyst at Schroders said in a note.
Several Spanish savings banks, including some that have been involved in recent mergers, have failed the tests, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Friday.
The test scenarios include a look at how they cope with a moderate recession this year and next, and the same scenario with additional losses on government bonds.
Any bank whose Tier 1 capital ratio falls below 6 percent by the end of 2011 will be regarded as failing the test, according to documents seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Banks would be expected to raise funds to make up the capital shortfall.
The hunt for weak spots in European banking has focused on Spain's regional savings banks, known as cajas, as well as regional German lenders, known as landesbanks. Spain and Germany have set up funds to help weak banks recapitalize and Spain wants more cajas to merge.
The EU cleared Spain and Portugal on Friday to extend state support measures for their banks until the end of 2010.
Sweden, Germany, Austria, Latvia, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and Greece have already secured EU approval to do so.
Manfred Weber, the head of the Association of German Banks, told local radio that he was confident that German banks "all in all" would perform well at the tests.
"I also believe that the European banking system, two thirds of which are included in this test, will present a better picture than many expected before," he said.
European banks shares were flat in early trade ahead of the test results despite a record jump in Germany's Ifo business sentiment index, the latest in encouraging signs for Europe including better results in recent sovereign debt auctions.
A stress test on U.S. banks early last year helped draw a line under worries about the sector there and turned around market sentiment, and European regulators are aiming to achieve the same.
But there have been clear splits in the 27-nation EU about how to model the test and how much to divulge, stoking worries that it will be less credible.
With the latest data showing signs of a strengthening recovery in Europe, banks could find themselves in a healthier position than expected.
"We have been light on financials for several months now and we're certainly not about to change that. But there could well be a relief rally," said Gartmore's Anderson.
(Writing by Steve Slater, Elizabeth O'Leary and Kazunori Takada; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Jason Neely)
