The European Central Bank is launching a push to strengthen the eurozone's banking system as it tries to shore up the region's recovery from recession.

 

The bank announced Wednesday that a yearlong review of 130 of Europe's biggest banks will begin next month. The asset review is an effort to ferret out hidden bank losses such as loans that are unlikely to be repaid. That will be followed by a stress test that would simulate bank losses in a crisis.

 

At the end, banks could be pushed to repair their finances by raising more capital buffers against losses.

 

The parlous financial state of some banks has held back the economy of the 17 EU countries that use the euro by making it harder for them to lend to businesses.