savings banks
March 2nd, 2011
Qatar will invest 300 million euros in Spanish banks and has discussed other investments with Spain's prime minister, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said on Monday. The prime minister said the move would be to "invest in these companies and capitalise them." "We have confidence in the ...
Continue reading Spanish Banks to Get €300 Million Cash Injection from Qatar
March 1st, 2011
The Bank of Spain didn't exactly bare all last week, but its report on Spain's cajas was the best peek we've had yet inside these troubled savings banks. The cajas account for 42% of the country's total banking assets, but so far trying to divine the scale of their losses ...
Continue reading Bank Disclosures a Good Sign for Spain
February 22nd, 2011
Spain approved a decree toughening capital requirements for banks on Friday, but pushed out a deadline for unlisted regional banks to get private capital on board by six months. The decree forces savings banks, or 'cajas', to seek private capital, either by direct investment or stock market listings, in order to ...
Continue reading Spain Clears Plan to Shore Up Savings Banks
February 9th, 2011
They are officially banks but they have become Spain's main real estate agents, according to data from the country's banking sector which reveals the extent of their risky property assets. The Bank of Spain had asked all 17 of the country's fragile regional savings banks, which account for about half of ...
Continue reading Spanish Banks Display Risky Appetite for Property
February 7th, 2011
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday hailed reforms undertaken by eurozone member Spain to revive its battered economy and fend off the need for an Irish-style bailout. "Spain has really done its homework and for that reason I think Spain is on a very good path," she said when asked during ...
Continue reading German Chancellor Praises Spain's Economic Reforms
February 2nd, 2011
Spain's La Caixa took a major step forward in the wider overhaul of the country's savings bank sector on Thursday, setting out plans to boost its capital and become a listed bank. Spain's regional savings banks -- known as cajas -- are under pressure from the government of Prime Minister Jose ...
Continue reading Spain's La Caixa to Create New Listed Bank
January 25th, 2011
The big Spanish news stories in the last week have centred around the restructuring of Spain’s smaller savings banks – the Cajas. The exact amount of funding required to recapitalise these banks is not yet known, but even the most pessimistic estimate of €100bn (the general view is a more realistic ...
Continue reading Recapitalisation of Spanish Building Societies 'Affordable'
January 21st, 2011
Spain's regional savings banks are planning a March road show to Asia to drum up investor interest, having failed as yet to strike any private sector deals, savings bank sector sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The latest attempt to attract private capital into the unlisted savings banks, or 'cajas', follows similar ...
Continue reading Spanish Cajas Campaign to Attract Asian Investors
January 18th, 2011
In this week’s news, there are signs that we could be close to resolving the question marks over a key part of the Spanish economy. The Spanish government is attempting to lay its cards on the table and demonstrate, once and for all, the solvency of its banking system. Doubts over the ...
Continue reading Spain Grabs the Bull by the Horns
December 23rd, 2010
Local banks in Spain are responsible for a flood of foreclosed properties set to hit the Spanish real estate market in 2011, it is claimed. There are now around 100,000 foreclosed homes on the market in Spain according to Madrid based Pisos Embargados de Bancos, a company that lists a quarter ...
Continue reading Spain's Cajas Storing Up Problems for Property Market
December 15th, 2010
Moody's Investors Service on Monday lifted its estimated loan losses for the Spanish banking system by 63% to €176 billion (232.81 billion), saying the country's banks have only recognized half of this figure to date and would need additional capital of €17 billion to take such a hit. The ratings agency ...
Continue reading Spain's Banks Need Extra Capital, Say Moody's
December 6th, 2010
Spain’s bank restructuring fund plans to raise a further €2bn ($2.66bn) by issuing bonds in the next few months as mergers and cost-cutting among savings banks gather pace, the Financial Times has learnt from bankers in Madrid. Some bank analysts argue that unlisted cajas and commercial banks are so heavily exposed ...
Continue reading Bank Restructuring Fund Plans Further Bond Issues
November 23rd, 2010
Boston-headquartered private equity firm Advent International has paid €100m for a 94.5 per cent stake in Spanish property valuation company Tinsa, with most of the remaining stock being held by the management team. Tinsa provides property valuation, analysis and real estate advisory services. It deliberately avoids brokering property transactions in the ...
Continue reading Advent Acquires Spanish Property Appraiser TINSA
August 13th, 2010
Spanish banks and savings banks, shaken by the recent freeze they faced in the government bond repo market, are increasingly seeking membership of international trading networks and clearing houses to widen their options for raising short-term liquidity. Several large banks, including Caja Madrid and BBVA, are applying to be members of ...
Continue reading Spanish Banks in Drive to Revive Repo Financing
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
