The nation’s 23 largest banks would all survive a steep economic downturn, the Federal Reserve found in its annual stress test of top lenders, providing a vote of confidence in a sector rattled by three notable failures this spring.
Even if an economic shock sends unemployment tripling to 10 percent and commercial real estate prices plunging 40 percent, forcing big banks to absorb more than $540 billion in losses, the companies could continue lending, the Fed found.