BRUSSELS – European Union nations on Tuesday pledged 'maximum transparency' when they publish the results of stress tests that will show how the region's banks would fare if the economy worsens sharply.

The results of the simulations will be closely watched by markets worried that European governments could face extra costs for rescuing troubled banks as they struggle with mounting debt and slow economic growth.

BRUSSELS – The European Union said Tuesday it will only publish a general health check on banks on July 23 and will wait another two weeks before making public more specific details on how 91 banks would fare if the economy worsens.

The bank stress tests are closely watched by markets worried that European governments could face extra costs for rescuing troubled banks as they struggle with mounting debt and slow economic growth.

ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP) – Troubled Swiss bank UBS said Tuesday that it had returned a 1.20 billion Swiss franc profit (1.12 billion dollars, 821 million euros) in the final quarter of 2009, shrugging off more than a year of quarterly losses.

The turnaround in the final three months of the year helped the bank to cut its annual net loss to 2.73 billion francs last year, compared with 21.29 billion francs at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, UBS said in a statement.