Europe must suffer
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RBS’ Mariano Aldama: “Spain’s new government can bring back markets’ trust”
Mariano Aldama of the Royal Bank of Scotland and responsible for capital market origination for financial institutions in Spain and Portugal, has given an interview to the business daily Cinco Días in which he admits that, despite the critical situation of Spain because of excessive financing costs, it is possible to restore market confidence. We offer an excerpt of the interview. How long can the banking system resist without financing itself? The rejection in the markets can not last much longer but first there are pieces of the puzzle that…
“Merkel will soften her stand”
By Alfredo Aranda, in Madrid| The proposal to centralise fiscal policies in the euro zone is perhaps the only initiative that has received the almost unanimous agreement of the EMU members, although it remains to be seen how it can be articulated. At Agenbolsa, analyst Paula Hausmann considers that this is a good option to restore confidence in the euro and stabilise shaken bond markets. But the big question remains: will…
Union Bancaire Privée: “let’s go for austerity but beware of inflation”
According to Patrice Gautry, UBP’s chief economist, we are now at the end of a cycle. The West’s growth rate has kept one step ahead of the spiral of debt that was fuelling it, but now we have reached the end of that road: household and national debt needs to be reduced. “As testified by the frantic talks among leaders, the mounting political and economic threats unequivocally call for higher…
“EU public debt rate is lower than in the US or Japan”
MADRID | If there is something we all can agree on is that there is too much debt worldwide. We can also agree on the fact that it is the developed countries that are suffer this high level of debt, after more than ten years of excesses. This is the opinion of Jose Luis Martínez Campuzano, chief strategist at Citi inSpain, who has expressed his views for Consenso del Mercado. “When…
Emilio Botín, the first banker to open a branch in a ‘favela’
In the last seven years in Brazil, 46 millions of poor people have become middle class and it is expected that 19 millions more can also improve their purchasing power by 2014. Banco Santander is the third private bank in Brazil, following Itaú and Bradesco, and the first opening a branch in a ‘favela’, Alemao, the most dangerous in Rio de Janerio. The daily Expansión had the scoop: “The opening…
Unions promise a Red Wednesday
German savings banks show Santander their true colours
Three years after Germany’s savings banks association DSGV sought a court injunction against Banco Santander using the colour red in its almost 350 branches in the country, the battle goes on. The German newspaper Die Welt reported on Tuesday that DSGV has set up a deadline through a lower court for the Spanish entity to change its image or face a fine. According to Die Welt, “recent surveys confirm that…
Spain’s regions obtained a “small surplus” in 3Q11, says finance minister Salgado
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…
Spain could raise €200mn from the wealthy’s Swiss accounts
Digital news website El Confidencial on Tuesday published an article about the effect the so-called Rubik Plan would have on the Spanish budget. This is a bilateral agreement to lift banking secrecy in Switzerland, which would allow hidden account holders in the country to pay taxes anonymously in Spain. The conclusion of experts is clear: the amount collected thanks to this measure would barely exceed €200 million, a somewhat tiny…