The New York Times notes some Barclays research which shows that roughly $172 billion in debt will mature later this year, while $245 billion will mature next year. That amounts to about $25 billion a month. So the big question is, how will this debt be retired, rolled over or somehow dealt with by top banks? Most of these short-term securities were bought by SIVs that have since had their wings clipped.

So, as the Times notes, this suggests that banks will have to shrink their balance sheets. A Barclays exec told the paper: "Some banks have meaningful cash hoards to deal with some of these maturities. They do have assets on the other side that they can shrink. And the other thing to keep in mind here is institutions are taking in deposits at close to record lengths." So, it may prove manageable, but it will not be easy at some banks. And no one should assume a bank is in the clear because it has paid back its TARP funds. 

For more:
- here's the article

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Banks struggling to refinance long-term debt