Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is betting that U.S. banks can do something their Japanese counterparts were unable to accomplish in Japan's "lost decade" of the 1990s: earn their way out of trouble.
The "stress test" results released Thursday by regulators found that the 19 largest banks face a $74.6 billion capital hole that may be filled mostly by private money. That compares with the hundreds of billions of dollars seen by outside analysts, including the International Monetary Fund, and takes into account banks' projected earnings over the next two years.
The "stress test results are an important step forward," Geithner said in a statement announcing the results. "Americans should know that the government stands behind the banking system and that their deposits are safe."