BS Markets | Spanish banks’ recourse to Eurosystem financing stood at almost 170 billion euros in May. Second only to Italy’s in Eurozone, whose needs amount to around 250 billion euros. In both cases these volumes represent 15% of GDP and between 6 and 7% of the size of the sector.
According to the estimates of BBVA Research, social security enrollment increased 0.8% in second quarter , and unemployment reduced 1.6%.
Now “the waters appear to have calmed” in Italy, analysts at Intermoney, however, believe we will see more episodes of tension originating in Italy. The key moment is likely to come at the end of the summer or in the autumn. This situation should be seen as a scenario for tension rather than rupture, although contagion to other peripheral economies could be possible.
J. L.M.Campuzano | Spanish household debt continued to reduce in 2017, reaching 61% of GDP (down 3%), according to the Bank of Spain. It has fallen 24% since its máximum level reached in 2010. Company debt at the end of the year amounted to 78% of GDP, with a fall of 5% over 2016. Company debt has fallen 39% since its maximums.
Ofelia Marín-Lozano | The Spanish financial sector has made an unprecedented effort to sanitise its books: since the beginning of the crisis in 2008, sanitising and provisions (amounting to some 260 billion euros) have reduced profit margins by two thirds, according to figures from the latest annual meeting of the financial sector. The role of digitilisation replacing branches was one of the recurrent themes of the meeting.
Israel Rafalovich | In the last few days a saying has frequently been heard in the corridors of the European Commission: “Spain is not Italy. With the new Spanish government it is now a Spanish spring.”
The shareholders of the Testa Residencial, Santander (37%), BBVA (26%), Acciona (20%) and Merlin Properties (17%), have finally chosen to list the Socimi on the MAB instead of making a public offer of part of its share capital. The reason behind the decision is the tensions in the financial markets over the last few days.
Ana Fuentes/Carlos Díaz Güell | “We were a very poor country which in the last 40 years has made a spectacular transformation. Today there are over 150,000 companies which export regularly and have exported at least in the last three years”, explains Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, High Commissioner for the Spain Brand (Marca España), and privileged observer of the economic reality in Spain and how its business class has evolved over the last few decades.
Is Germany pro-independence? No, no it isn’t, despite the fact that the separtist propaganda operates intelligently in Germany – with Puigdemont top of the list, in his role as the victim of an oppressive and anti-democratic Spain.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its growth estimates upwards for the Spanish economy for the next two years, so Spain is now the European country which is growing the most, and number two amongst the developed markets, after the US.