Europe Fears Banks Lack Cash Cushion to Cover Bad Loans

``with European banks sharing similar characteristics with Texas banks in the late 1980s -- nonperforming real estate loans and slim cash buffers -- the Texas ratio has emerged as a popular analytical tool. This spring, banking analysts for Nomura in London used the Texas ratio to highlight 11 banks in Southern Europe that were most exposed to nonperforming loans relative to cash they had on hand. Of the 11 banks that exceeded the 100 percent threshold, three banks stood out with ratios of 150 percent and above: Piraeus Bank in Greece, Banco Popolare in Italy and Banco Popular Español in Spain...''