Jakob Suwalski and Giulia Branz (Scope Ratings) | Budget constraints faced by the autonomous regions make policy adjustments and new investments difficult. By the end of 2022, none of the regions met the 13% debt-to-GDP threshold in their fiscal framework, while the aggregate fiscal deficit worsened to 1.1% of GDP from 0.1% in 2021, contrasting with the reduction in the deficit of the general government, i.e. the central government plus…
Last week the Spanish Treasury made its debut in green debt issuance. However, the autonomous communities are ahead of the pack. As told in an analyis of Scope Ratings, sovereign lending became the primary funding source for Spanish regions as the euro area debt crisis hampered access to capital markets. Madrid, the Basque Country and Andalusia have come to market this year, raising so far an aggregate 3.5 Bn euros in ESG-linked bond.
Although most of Spain’s public debt belongs to the central Administration, the debt held by the 17 autonomous regions is by no means insignificant: it accounts for 25% of Spain’s GDP, way above the 16% it represented just five years ago. Many regions are now returning to the debt markets.
MADRID | The chain of default warnings is getting larger. If the regions of Murcia and Catalonia confirm they need help from the €18-billion central fund to repay its debt maturities, as Valencia explicitly did on July 20, the autonomous bailout would reach so far €7.7 billion. Of them, €6 billion could be made available with almost immediate effect, as Loterías del Estado would be the lender. The regions’ short-term…
By Juan Pedro Marín Arrese, in Madrid | The way the data on the Spanish deficit snowballed from 6% in mid-December to 8% a few weeks later and to 8.51% now, has led many to raise their eyebrows in utter disbelief. Even allowing for some benign neglect shown by the out coming government, such a huge deviation adds little credit to budgetary figures outside central administration boundaries. It not only proves…
With a public deficit of €12.87 billion, 1.19% of GDP in the third quarter, the regional governments in Spain would have recorded a small surplus of €192.72 million, according to what the finance vice president Elena Salgado said on Tuesday. More details were reported by the Spanish press. “… The Spanish regions are on the path of deficit reduction,” said Elena Salgado, finance vice president. Her forecast for the full year…
