ECB's Praet: banks' health check to rebuild confidence in sector

Reuters
European Central Bank Executive Board member Peter Praet gives a speech during a meeting organised by the Grand Conferences Catholiques in Brussels January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Eric Vidal

MUNICH (Reuters) - European Central Bank Executive Board member Peter Praet said on Monday he expected a financial health check the European Central Bank is conducting of top banks in Europe to return confidence to the sector. "I am very confident that the AQR/stress test will bring back confidence in the banking sector in Europe," Praet said during a presentation to an economics conference in Munich. The ECB will release on Oct. 26 the results of the review of European banks' health, designed to offer the clearest picture yet of the state of a sector that was pummeled during the financial crisis. (Reporting by Andreas Framke; Writing by Paul Carrel, editing by John Stonestreet)