????美國銀行業經歷了一個艱難的業績報告期，但歐洲銀行業的處境似乎更糟糕。從德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank）到瑞銀（UBS）再到荷蘭合作銀行（Rabobank），各種老問題和乏善可陳的表現似乎拖累了近乎所有綜合性歐洲銀行的收益。

????但歐洲銀行的不良貸款問題更令人擔憂。歐洲銀行業不良貸款在過去的五年增長超過一倍，估計達1.2萬億歐元。這些銀行曾希望利用未來盈利償還債務，同時解決法律問題，但現實并非如此。時候到了，它們現在可能必須面對現實，真正開始變賣資產，以償還債務并一勞永逸的清理資產負債表問題。

????歐洲最大的銀行德意志銀行本周早些時候震驚了市場，因為它公布了遠低于分析師預期的業績。在截至9月份的這一季度，德意志銀行出乎意料地列支12億歐元的訴訟費用撥備，導致它的凈利潤同比下滑了約94%，減少到4100萬歐元，不足分析師預期的（4.3億歐元）十分之一。

????在這方面，德意志銀行遠非個例。似乎每一家大型國際銀行都面臨著類似的問題，只不過嚴重程度各不一樣。荷蘭合作銀行近期表示，它為參與倫敦銀行間同業拆借利率（Libor）操縱案支付了約11億美元的罰金。監管機構在這方面非常謹慎，正在敦促各大銀行為未來的法律訴訟撥備必要的資金。瑞士監管機構已經責令瑞銀在上一個季度提高訴訟撥備，盡管它已經就自身在倫敦銀行同業拆借利率案中的相關法律責任達成了和解，并承諾支付約15億美元的和解費。

????過去的幾個季度，這些歐洲銀行實際上已經在數年來首次開始下調法律訴訟撥備，因為許多銀行家認為最糟糕的時刻已經過去。畢竟，從全球金融危機前夕到現在已經過去五年多了。如果未來出現任何法律問題，它們認為都可以用當季盈利支付。

????但不幸的是，他們的算盤打錯了。不僅法律問題在繼續侵蝕盈利，而且銀行發現錢更難賺了。例如，德意志銀行上個季度的整體收入下滑了10%，因為幾個關鍵業務部門的經營業績都不理想。這家銀行龐大的固定收益交易部門的收入同比下降了約50%。

????這些銀行在努力求生存的同時，還需要滿足新的、更嚴格的資本儲備要求。歐洲央行（European Central Bank）上周宣布，將對128家銀行進行新的壓力測試，看它們手頭是否有必要的資金以應對新的金融危機。由于經營不善以及訴訟撥備，銀行手頭的現金已經減少。它們需要以某種方式提高股本，以滿足歐洲的資本要求（要求銀行隨時有至少8%的資本在手）。

????歐元區的銀行顯然已經被逼到了墻角。歐洲央行將進行的壓力測試預計比以往的更加嚴格，因此許多銀行都將需要提振資本基礎。雪上加霜的是，普華永道會計師事務所（PwC）的一份報告顯示，歐元區銀行賬面上有約1.2萬億歐元的不良貸款。這意味著，這些資產很可能會要被沖減，進而迫使銀行籌集更多的資本。

????銀行有幾種方法可以解決這個償付能力方面的問題。它們可以削減放貸，從而囤積資本，但監管機構可能不會允許它們這么做。它們也可以出售更多的股票，但以這種方式發行股本就會稀釋現有股東的權益，從而惹惱股東。陷入嚴重困境的銀行也可以向各自政府尋求救助，但那會傷害銀行的聲譽，還會導致一大堆新的問題。

????Banks in the U.S. have had a tough earnings season, but their counterparts across the pond in Europe seem to be having an even harder one. From Deutsche Bank to UBS to Rabobank, it seems that old demons and lackluster performance have hit the purse of nearly every integrated European bank.

????But European banks have an even more worrisome problem in the form of nonperforming loans, which have more than doubled to an estimated 1.2 trillion euros in the last five years. And banks had hoped to pay off their commitments and square their legal woes with future earnings, but that hasn't gone very well. It may be time for them to finally face facts and start truly selling assets to cover their bills and clean up their balance sheets once and for all.

????Deutsche Bank (DB), Europe's largest bank, shocked the market earlier this week when it reported results that were well below analyst estimates. A surprise 1.2 billion euro provision for litigation charges in the quarter ending in September pushed the firm's net income down some 94% from the same time last year to 41 million euros. That was less than a tenth of the 430 million euros expected.

????And Deutsche Bank is far from alone here. It seems like every major international bank is facing similar issues -- to varying degrees of severity. Rabobank, the Dutch bank, recently said it paid some $1.1 billion for its role in manipulating Libor. Regulators aren't taking any chances here and are pushing banks to put aside the necessary cash to cover their future legal claims. Swiss regulators actually ordered UBS (UBS) to add to its litigation reserves last quarter even though it had already settled its Libor legal woes, promising to pay some $1.5 billion for its role in the worldwide scheme.

????In the last few quarters the banks had actually started to decrease their legal reserves for the first time in years as many had believed that the worst was behind them. After all, it had been well over five years since the lead-up to the financial crisis. If there were any future legal issues, they gathered they could simply pay for them using current earnings.

????Unfortunately it hasn't worked out that way. Not only have the legal issues continued to gnaw at earnings, the banks have had a hard time making money. For example, Deutsche took a 10% hit to its overall revenue in the last quarter thanks to poor operating performance in several key divisions. The firm's massive fixed income trading desk reported revenues that were down some 50% from the previous year.

????As the banks struggle to keep their head above water they will also be expected to meet new and stringent capital reserve requirements. The European Central Bank announced last week it would be conducting new stress tests on 128 banks to see if they have the necessary capital on hand to deal with another financial crisis. With diminished cash on hand due to the poor operations and even more stashed away in litigation reserves, the banks will need to somehow pump up their equity to meet the European capital requirements, which call for banks to have at least 8% of their capital on hand at all times.

????Banks in the eurozone have clearly been backed into a corner. The stress tests performed by the ECB are expected to be more stringent than the ones in the past, so many banks will need to shore up their capital base. This is made even more pressing given that the banks have some 1.2 trillion euros of nonperforming loans on their books, according to a report by PwC. That means that they will probably need to be written down, requiring the banks to raise even more capital.

????Banks have several ways to address this solvency issue. They could hoard capital by cutting back on lending, but regulators probably won't let them do that. They could sell more stock, but issuing equity in this manner dilutes current shareholders, making them very angry. Banks that are in real trouble could ask for assistance from their respective governments, but this really hurts the bank's reputation and adds a whole host of new problems.