FRANKFURT, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Too few European banks have been wound down over the past few years, the chairman of the European Banking Authority (EBA), Andrea Enria was quoted as saying in an interview published on Monday.

Enria told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung national governments were tending to want to keep their lenders operational rather than let them fail, which has slowed the process of repairing the banking sector.

"I am convinced that too few banks in Europe have been wound down and disappeared from the market so far. It has been fewer than 40 institutes, in the United States by comparison there were about 500," he said.

The EBA, Europe's top banking regulator, is preparing tests on the finances of top lenders, potentially paving the way for further multi-billion euro fundraising measures by banks deemed shaky.