When No. 1 Financial-Strength Ranking Spells Doom: Jonathan Weil
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Less than three months ago the European Banking Authority said Dexia SA had passed its so-called stress test with ease. The French-Belgian lender’s July 15 news release carried this headline: “2011 EU-wide Stress Test Results: No Need for Dexia to Raise Additional Capital.”
Then last weekend, 86 days after getting its clean bill of health, Dexia took a government bailout to avoid collapsing. Nobody was surprised this happened. Nor should anyone have been.