The U.S. Treasury Department is asking banks not to mention the regulatory stress tests as part of their first-quarter earnings results, according to a source familiar with government discussions.

Many of the top 19 U.S. banks who are undergoing regulatory stress tests have already completed internal versions of the examinations, which are designed to determine their capital needs under more adverse economic conditions. However, the banks do not yet know the results of the government's version of the assessment, the source said.

U.S. President Barack Obama is meeting on Friday with top financial regulators to discuss the stress tests, the results of which are anxiously anticipated by the markets. Officials have said they will release the results in some form by the end of April.

(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski; Editing by Gary Hill)

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