Twenty-two large banks in Europe may have accumulated credit losses of close to 400 billion euros ($587 billion) for this year and next, the International Herald Tribune reported on Saturday.

The newspaper quoted officials who have seen a stress test commissioned by EU finance ministers from the Committee of European Bank Supervisors (CEBS) earlier this year.

Results of the tests will be discussed by the ministers at an informal meeting in Gothenburg in Sweden on Thursday.

The stress test showed the European Union banking sector could withstand a further deterioration of economic conditions, three EU sources told Reuters on Friday.

The stress tests were conducted by national supervisors according to common guidelines and methodology issued by the CEBS. It does not show the condition of individual institutions, but rather the degree of resilience of the overall EU banking sector.

European union