Spanish banks recorded aggregate attributed losses of 11.531 billion euros in the first half of 2020. This came in the wake of an effort in terms of provisions and write-offs to the tune of 26.518 million euros. Preparation for the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was behind this effort, according to the Spanish Banking Association (AEB).
Banco Santander’s board has agreed to hold the next general shareholder meeting on October 26-27. In line with what was announced in July, there will be a request to approve a bonus capital increase to distribute new shares equivalent to 0.10 euros per share as a complementary dividend for 2019. It would be paid this year and bring the total remuneration for 2019 to 0.20 euros per share, equivalent to a 40% payout.
The Spanish economy went into technical recession in the second quarter of the year after registering a 17.8% drop in GDP between April and June. This is the biggest quarterly fall in the National Statistics Institute (INE)’s historical series which began in 1970. That said, this decline has been less than was anticipated at end-July. At that point, and in the absence of some data, the INE estimated that GDP would have declined by 18.5% in the second quarter.
Iberdrola is targeting the Japanese market as a new platform for growth in renewable energy, specifically in the field of offshore wind. It has signed a deal with Macquarie’s Green Investment Group to acquire 100% of the local developer Acacia Renewables, which currently has two offshore wind farms under development, with a combined capacity of up to 1.2 GW. The operation will allow Iberdrola to position itself in the early development stage of Japan’s offshore wind market.
US biotech company Novavax has signed an agreement to carry out the industrial production of its vaccine for Europe in Spain, once it becomes available, with Spanish pharmaceutical Zendal (through its subsidiary Biofabri). The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), dependent on the Ministry of Health, has affirmed that this fact is an “important” boost for Spain’s pharmaceutical industry.
Rating agency S&P has changed Spain’s rating outlook to “negative” due to the pandemic. While maintaining the country rating at “A,” the agency warns of the coronavirus’ strong impact on Spain’s economy. For this reason it has worsened its perspectives from “stable” to “negative.” S&P also justifies its decision on the possibility that an agreement will not be reached over next year’s budget.
European national governments have responded to this crisis with battery of fiscal measures of various different types and sizes. According to the latest forecasts from the consensus of analysts (July 2020), the deterioration in the fiscal balance in 2020 will amount to 8.6% of GDP in Germany, 8.1% in Spain, 7.6% in France and 9.4% in Italy. For CaixaBank Research, this suggests that the fiscal stimulus of the major economies in 2020 will, in fact, be more similar than one might believe.
Last night the boards of Bankia and Caixabank approved its merger. The operation, which will retain the CaixaBank brand, is structured as a merger of Bankia into CaixaBank. The combined entity’s total assets will exceed €664 Bn, a volume that will make it the largest bank in the domestic market, with an important position at a European level and a market capitalisation of over €16 billion. The management aims at a target of 770M euros of cost savings and revenue synergies of €290M.
Urbas, which specialies in real estate development, construction and land management announced the acquisition of a feldspar deposit in the Galicia region. This jump to a business so far removed from its original activity is due to the firm’s need to diversify in order to offset the debt levels related to its real estate investments. This feldspar deposit is considered as one of the most important in Europe, with reserves estimated at some €600 M, in line with the current value of the mineral.
The total debt of the public administrations rose by 8.2% in July in comparison with the same month of the previous year, as a consequence of the greater expenditure derived from the coronavirus crisis. This increase adds up to almost €100 billion more in the last year, according to the data published on Thursday by the Bank of Spain.