banking sector
October 18th, 2010
Spanish banks borrowing from the European Central Bank eased for the second month in a row in September, reflecting improving funding conditions even if still holding at high levels. Data from the Bank of Spain showed borrowing from the ECB fell to 112 billion euros in the past month, down from ...
Continue reading Spanish Banks' ECB Borrowing Down in September
October 15th, 2010
Only months after two emergency rescues and a wrenching series of mergers among Spanish cajas de ahorros or savings banks, a second round of consolidation is being predicted by the country’s bankers, officials and financial analysts. With Spain’s economy still stagnant after the global crisis and the collapse of the Spanish ...
Continue reading Fresh Cuts Predicted for Spanish Cajas
October 12th, 2010
Banesto, the Spanish domestic bank, heralded further tough times for the country’s financial sector when it unveiled a 52 per cent drop in its third-quarter net profit, largely because of bigger provisions for bad loans. Banesto’s results, which were slightly better than predicted, are closely watched in the markets because it ...
Continue reading Banesto Q3 Results Grim News for Spain’s Banking Sector
August 20th, 2010
Britons are the least likely to retire at home, according to a new survey revealing that more than half of us plan to desert the UK in favour of a sunnier climate. Better weather and a fiesta lifestyle have obvious appeal, but does this come with any nasty surprises? Only 43 ...
Continue reading Beware the Financial Risks of Retiring Abroad
August 5th, 2010
Spain's ailing job market continued to show signs of improvement in July as the key tourism sector added jobs for the summer vacation season. In a release, the Spanish labor ministry said Tuesday registered jobless claims fell by 73,790, or 1.9%, to 3.9 million in July from June, marking the fourth ...
Continue reading Spanish Job Market Gets Seasonal Boost
August 3rd, 2010
Compare and contrast. In Spain Should Tread Carefully Over Economic Recovery, regarding the recent banking stress tests, we read: By confining itself to singling out five relatively small Spanish saving and loan banks as unsound, that test gives the overall Spanish banking system a virtual clean bill of health. And ...
Continue reading Is Spanish Transparency Enough?
July 27th, 2010
The stress test results published by the Bank of Spain on Friday underlined the performance gap between the commercial banks that account for half of the sector and many of the savings banks whose bankrolling of the Spanish property surge left them exposed as the construction boom collapsed. Five Spanish banks ...
Continue reading Spanish Stress Tests Highlight Divergence
July 22nd, 2010
In an effort to reassure financial markets about the health of the European Union's banking system, the bloc's countries are stress-testing a large number of their banks and will publish the results on July 23. WHICH BANKS WILL BE TESTED? Ninety-one banks comprising 65 percent of the European banking sector by assets. ...
Continue reading EU Bank Stress Test Results Due
July 7th, 2010
Europe’s leaders have a simple explanation for the current financial crisis on their continent: greedy Wall Street hedge funds caused it. Rapacious investors made wild bets on Greek debt, the argument goes, which drove up borrowing costs and made the crisis seem even worse than it was. That bad behavior ...
Continue reading European Banks Worse Than Wall Street
June 29th, 2010
The Spanish government has refuted reports that it will seek to dip into the EU/IMF's €750 billion emergency fund. However there remain calls for greater disclosure of Spain’s financial difficulties. According to Raj Badiani, IHS Global Insight economist “the country's unlisted regional savings banks need to come clean about property debt-related ...
Continue reading Greater Financial Disclosure Called for Spain
June 25th, 2010
The incipient panic about Europe's debt crisis seems to have subsided into mere pessimism this week, with the euro rebounding and investors encouraged by political leaders' new willingness to take quick action to calm market fears. The big underlying issues haven't been erased: Spain is still dogged by speculation it may ...
Continue reading Markets Calmed as Budget Measures Pushed Forward
June 11th, 2010
Spain's unions said 75 percent of public sector workers joined their strike against austerity measures on Tuesday but it was business as usual in Madrid with few disruptions at hospitals, schools or government offices. The two largest Spanish unions said as many as three-quarters of 2.3 million workers in state-run entities, ...
Continue reading Spanish Unions Strike Over Planned Wage Cuts
May 27th, 2010
Three Spanish regional savings banks, led by Caja de Ahorros de Mediterraneo said on Monday they have reached a preliminary agreement to merge some of their operations. The agreement, which also includes Cajastur, Caja de Extremadura and Caja Cantabria, would aim to create a joint banking group that seeks to "strengthen ...
Continue reading Spanish Banks Agree Merger to Strengthen Solvency
May 7th, 2010
It is “absolute madness” to think Spain will need the kind of aid package debt-laden Greece is receiving from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Tuesday. The premier spoke at a press conference in Brussels after the Spanish stock market ...
Continue reading Spanish PM Dismisses IMF Aid Rumours
March 18th, 2010
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Monday downgraded its risk assessment level for Spain's banking sector, warning of "high credit losses" during the country's recession. "We believe that Spanish financial institutions are likely to operate in a difficult economic environment over a prolonged period," it said in a statement. "Spain's financial system ...
Continue reading S&P Downgrades Spain's Banking Sector
