WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve says that all of the 35 largest U.S. banks are fortified enough to survive an economic shock and keep on lending. Banks' losses from credit cards increased in the latest "stress tests," however.

The first round of the central bank's annual stress tests show that as a group, the 35 big banks have benefited from a steadily recovering economy to gain strength and build up capital buffers against unexpected losses. It was the eighth annual check-up for the banks, mandated by Congress after the 2008 financial crisis that triggered the Great Recession.

The Fed said it applied its toughest-ever "severely adverse" scenario for the economy in this year's tests to see how the banks would fare.