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LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Europe's top banks lifted theiraverage capital ratios by 1 percentage point in the second halfof last year and have almost fully met new capital rules thatare being phased in, the industry regulator said.
The European Banking Authority said on Thursday there wouldhave been an 11.6 billion euro ($15 billion) aggregate shortfallfor Europe's top banks to reach a 7 percent target for corecapital, down from a 36.3 billion shortfall six months earlier.It continues a sharp reduction in the theoretical capitalshortfall faced by banks, which was estimated at 242 billioneuros less than three years ago.
The EBA said the common equity capital ratio, a measure ofcapital strength, of Europe's top 42 banks averaged 10.1 percentat the end of December, up from 9.1 percent at the end of June.($1 = 0.7735 Euros) (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by)
