On Monday, there were several excellent articles written on the likely results of the federal stress tests on the top 19 banks.
1. The results are being closely guarded.
2. The banks are to keep quiet.
3. Even with guards and strict orders, the results are widely known already.
Federal officials shared the preliminary results of the stress tests with representatives of the 19 largest banks on Friday.
The thought then was that the general public would not see the results of the stress tests until May 4. But even though these financial institutions have reportedly been issued a "harsh gag order", it is quite likely that the information has already leaked.
As writer Donald Johnson wrote yesterday, "there are no secrets on Wall Street." If one assumes that the data on these tests has already leaked out over the weekend an analysis of the top 18 banks' stock performance Monday will clearly tell the story. (The 19th bank GMAC LLC is privately held)
A speculative look at this table likely reveals the three banks that failed the tests.
The good news? The other 15 or 16 passed the regulator's stress exam.
When the results are finally official we'll have one more indication that the majority of large and small banks are no longer in crisis mode.