ECB says review of bank models not aimed at raising capital demands

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's review of the internal models used by 68 euro zone banks for calculating risk is not intended to result in higher capital requirements for those firms, the ECB said on Wednesday.

"It is important to note that while the project aims to reduce unwarranted variability in RWAs (risk-weighted assets) across banks, a general increase in RWAs is not the intention," the ECB said in its website.

"Nevertheless, TRIM (targeted review of internal models) could result in increases or decreases in capital needs for individual banks."

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)