The Congressional Oversight Panel announced in a report this morning that it feels more bank stress tests are needed, especially if unemployment rates continue to rise. The group believes that the stress tests should be repeated periodically as long as banks continue to hold toxic assets.

The panel used a risk-modeling approach that is described as "reasonable and conservative," but added that it is impossible for an outside party to mirror the loss projections that form the core of the stress tests. The group noted that the "more adverse scenario" assumption for the U.S. unemployment rate in the tests has nearly been met in 2009. The yearly average for the unemployment rate stands at 8.5%, which isn't far from the 8.9% assumed in the first round of stress tests. The group recommended that the "Treasury publicly track the status of its stress test macro-economic assumptions (unemployment, GDP, and housing prices) and repeat the stress test if the adverse scenario assumptions have been exceeded."

With the results of the bank stress tests looming this afternoon, many people are wondering what the results will hold for the 19 tested banks. One of the banks tested but not named as much is Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB); its results are of major interest in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

In the electronic version of the local fishwrap (The Cincinnati Enquirer), Erik Oja from Standar & Poor's was interviewed about FITB's situation. Oja contends that "Fifth Third will be required to raise capital ... How much is the issue."

Bank Regulators are setting out new guidelines for the 19 banks undergoing "stress tests" First of all, they have established four categories for sorting out where the various banks fall in their overall assessments:

• Category 1: Banks that must raise additional capital to protect themselves against a deeper recession.
• Category 2: Banks that need more equity but not necessarily additional capital.
• Category 3: Banks that have enough capital.
• Category 4: Banks that have surplus capital.

Then Regulators have established a new rule for repayment of TARP monies. Banks that want to repay their TARP loans must demonstrate that they can raise capital before repayment of their loans.

US banks will receive preliminary results of their "stress tests" today. From some of the data coming in all is not well in the garden patch. On an overall basis, while banks are showing surface profits to the public, their books are deteriorating in the back room. At the biggest lenders, bad assets -- those not generating interest -- have tripled. Let's look at some numbers:

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE: PNC) saw non performing assets jump five fold.
• US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) had bad their assets quadrupled.
• 13 of the largest banks' bad assets increased an average of 169%.
• To cushion further losses lenders will need to raise another $1 trillion.

Holy smokes! The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve may have created a monster with the creation of bank "stress tests." Now the Fed has buttoned the lips of the bankers not to disclose any details of their "stress tests" for fear that it might affect the stock market adversely.

Paul Miller of FBR Capital Markets said: if you allow banks to discuss their findings, by inference, those who don't say anything must have poor results. U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner said that the test are like those used by doctors to determine a patient's health.