MADRID | March 4, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | No financial entity which enters a crisis and needs an external rescue retains its identity. Usually it just becomes integrated into another financial group which allows for a change of brand. Bankia may be the first exception to the long list of Spanish financial crises of the last half century.
MADRID, February 20, 2015 | The Corner | Non-performing loans in Spain continue to decline, with the total ratio of bad debts now standing at 12.5% of total outstanding loans. The figures represent the fourth consecutive decline in non-performing loans and now stand at the lowest level since September 2013. The figure is over 100bps less than the 13.6% recorded in December 2013, in spite of overall lending falling by -4.6%.
MADRID | By Francisco López | Year 2014 was positive for Spanish banks (we haven’t seen Bankia and Liberbank results yet): they earned a total of 10 billion of euros, 27% more than in 2013. But ROE is still weaker.
MADRID |The Corner | Lending by Spanish banks to consumers is on the rise-albeit tentatively.
MADRID | The Corner | Financial entities need to submit allegations on the European Central Bank’s solvency ratios recommendations next week. As expected, due to their systemic nature the ECB is asking the biggest lenders (Santander and BBVA) a 9.0% ratio versus the 8.0% required for their smaller peers such as Caixabank, Bankia and Sabadell.
MADRID | By J.P. Marín Arrese | Santander´s management has provided little explanation for the huge 10% capital increase launched last week. The official announcement vaguely notes the need to seize new opportunities when economic prospects are improving. Can we bet on such a promising outlook when so many uncertainties prevail in Europe? It doesn’t seem very convincing. Rumours on potential take-overs also seem rather odd, as raising cash before entering a bid will only serve to increase the final bill. It makes more sense to gauge this move as a means aimed at buttressing the bank´s own funds.
MADRID | By J.P. Marín Arrese | The Spanish Justice Department has launched a thorough investigation into the accounts which were submitted prior to the original BANKIA share issuance back in 2011. Experts from the Bank of Spain have delivered a devastating report implying these accounts did not provide a fair elucidation of the balance sheet. Should the final ruling follow that line, it could open the way for multi-billion euro claims from investors. Even though BANKIA has announced it can cope with such losses, with taxpayers footing two-thirds of the bill, the impact on Spanish financial market credibility could wreak havoc.
MADRID | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | Spanish bank Santander is a powerful battleship, the euro zone´s largest by market cap, one of the world’s leaders, with an outstanding presence on both sides of the Atlantic. It is therefore a complicated engine to move, even slowly. The unexpected death of the company´s chairman, Emilio Botín, in September 2014, brought about the accession of his daughter Ana to the bank´s top post. The younger Botín possesses unquestionable professional credentials, but nonetheless has had to allay fears that any change in leadership can bring about.
MADRID | The Corner | The stock listing of Santander, Spain and the euro zone´s largest bank was provisionally suspended on Thursday ahead of the imminent approval of a capital increase of €7Bn. When trading was suspended, shares were priced at €6.85, a rebound of 3.31%.
MADRID | By Ofelia Marín-Lozano | The Spanish banking system got positive grades in the stress tests for two main reasons: the discrepancy between the accounts published by the end of 2013 and its (minimum) revision by the ECB’s inspectors. According to the asset quality revision (AQR), carried out before the stress tests, the capital ratio of the Spanish banks was only reduced by 20 bases points after the ECB’s revision. This is a minimum adjustment, slightly below the French or German banking system, but well below the Italian, Belgian or Dutch banking. It is certainly well below the big discrepancies detected in Greek and Portuguese banks.