ECB Test Seen Failing to Give German Banks Spur to Merge

The European Central Bank’s health checks on euro-area lenders may provide a short-term boost for Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG. They may also remove an immediate incentive for Germany to consolidate its patchwork of co-operative and local savings banks.

The only one of 24 German banks scrutinized in the ECB’s asset quality review and stress test to fail -- Muenchener Hypothekenbank eG -- plugged its 229 million-euro ($290 million) shortfall with 408 million euros of capital, regulatory filings show. Shipping lender HSH Nordbank AG, deemed by Barclays Plc credit analysts to be at risk of failing, also pulled through as a 10 billion-euro state guarantee sheltered it from the crisis-ridden maritime industry.