Jul 30th, 10:33am
The International Monetary Fund praised the U.S. financial system as stable, but warned smaller banks remained under stress.
In its first comprehensive assessment of the world's largest economy, the IMF Financial Sector Assessment Program report released Friday was a mixed review of the country's financial strengths and weaknesses.
The sweeping financial reform bill signed into law this month was a step in the right direction, but missed the opportunity to streamline the complex web of agencies that oversee banks and other financial institutions,
the IMF said.
Among its harshest observations, the IMF said the government's strategy for dealing with the housing crisis has been costly, inefficient and complex, with subsidies that do not translate into a higher homeownership rate.
Bank stress tests conducted for the country's largest banks in April 2009 prompted the 19 largest U.S. banks to raise an additional $205 billion in capital -- a plus. On the negative side, a substantial slide in the commercial real estate market could threaten the nation's regional banks, which have yet to raise additional funds to enable them to survive a downturn, the IMF said.
In a scenario in which growth dropped and unemployment remained high, a significant number of U.S. bank holding companies -- especially small and medium-sized and regional banks -- would need additional capital,
the report said.
