French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday she was confident about the results of European bank stress tests due to be officially announced on Friday.

I am confident, the minister said after a news conference, but declined to enter in further details.

Europe is testing how 91 banks across 20 countries would cope with another economic downturn and losses on sovereign debt holdings, in an effort to restore confidence after the Greek debt crisis hit markets and sparked fears the euro zone could unravel.

The French banks subject to the tests are BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Societe General (SOGN.PA), Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA), and BPCE, plus the Franco-Belgian bank Dexia DEXI.PA(DEXI.BR).

(Reporting by Veronique Tison; writing by Daniel Flynn)

European central bank