S&P says American banking industry might not come out of crisis before 2013

Just one day after it was said that the U.S. banks will need only fourth of the capital demanded by the government Standard & Poor's reported that American banking crisis "merely entered a new phase" and will likely to show signs of coming to its end not earlier than 2013.

Today the financial sector is supported by hundreds of billions of government money especially those lenders who are considered to have systemic significance to be allowed to fail, noted S&P. The rating agency says that though the national efforts to increase lending, take bad assets off banks' balance sheets, and restart the market for packaging and selling securities may help the sector, banks will have a tough time surviving absent a bigger capital cushion than regulators require.

"There's nothing to say that this banking crisis can't go on for another three or four years," S&P Managing Director Tanya Azarchs said.

On Tuesday S&P reported that major U.S. banks need to raise about $18 billion of capital to protect themselves from the economic downturn whereas the government last week ordered 10 of the largest U.S. banks to raise $74.6 billion.

On May 4 S&P said that it may lower its ratings for 23 U.S. banks and thrifts, including 10 that underwent stress tests, citing concern about the industry's capitalization. It said the 23 companies had at least a 50 percent chance of being downgraded within 90 days.