Bank stress-test results delayed

WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- U.S. financial institutions will have to wait until Thursday to learn how 19 banks did on the so-called stress test administered by federal regulators.

Government officials pushed back the day they they are expected to provide information on individual companies as well as the overall group, CNNMoney.com reported Friday.

Regulators had indicated the results would be released Monday. The government began notifying participating institutions last week.

Austan Goolsbee, a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, indicated the delay was partially due to a disagreement by banks over test results.

"It was going to be on Monday, but the banks have the right to go back and make their case to the regulators ... like they're the guy complaining about their grade in class," Goolsbee said.

Goolsbee said the tests' goal was to determine the financial health of each institution and which may need to raise more capital.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the delay wasn't anything more than "regulators and the administration (wanting) to get this right from the very beginning. Obviously, these are very complicated. There's a lot of information that we want to get right and we want to ensure that when that transparency happens, that the information is correct.

"But I wouldn't get freaked out."