Washington ? The Federal Reserve will release results Thursday of “stress tests” for the 19 large banks at the center of the nation’s financial crisis. The results will shed light on which banks may need government support to withstand a more severe recession.

The Fed will detail the health of individual banks and provide an overall snapshot, according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter. The information will be released Thursday afternoon, the official said.

Negotiations between banks and regulators about the test results pushed back the release date, which was expected to be earlier in the week.

The Fed will reveal the extra capital the banks will need to absorb possible future losses on investments and loans — such as for commercial real estate and credit cards — if the recession were to worsen.

Last week, Fed officials said all 19 banks that underwent stress tests will need to keep an extra buffer of capital reserves beyond what’s now required, in case losses on these loans and other assets continue to mount. That means some banks will have to raise more cash.

Banks will have up to six months to raise money from private companies, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said.