This coming Monday, Colonial will join the Ibex 35, meaning that Spain’s two biggest socimis will now be represented in the selective index. The weighting of Spain’s property sector in the index will also be increased as it continues its recovery.
Despite the success of the Brexit vote last June, the indicators show that 2016 has not only not been a bad year, but has been one of the best in terms of bilateral Spanish-UK economic relations. Spanish exports reached record highs, despite the pound’s depreciation. And Spanish companies are committed to maintaining investments in the UK.
The ECB’s preliminary report on the structural financial indicators relating to the EU banking industry flag that the number of banking subsidiaries fell 4.8% in 26 countries last year, without taking into account figures from the UK and Ireland because they were not yet available. There were 28,807 bank branches in Spain at end-2016, compared with 32,026 in Germany, 37,261 in France or 29,335 in Italy. The figures also show the level of consolidation in the banking sector, measured by the share of assets held by the five largest lenders.
Fernando Rodríguez | The MifidII obliges the 100,000 professionals who inform and advise on finances in Spain to be accredited as being technically qualified to do this job by January 2018. Spain is the only country in Europe which doesn’t have any regulation in place regarding professional qualifications.
Brussels is not concerned about the Spanish banks, even despite the problems of a systemic lender like Popular, in the process of being sold. The Spanish banks have shown that they have done their homework and restructured their balance sheets since receiving a European bail-out in 2012.
Telefonica’s net profit rose 42.2% to 779 million euros in the first quarter of 2017 from a year earlier. The 2016 results were reformulated mid-last year after the group decided to stop presenting its UK subsidiary O2 as a discontinued operation. Revenues from its Brazil and Latin American operations were the main earnings driver.
Board member at Iberdrola and Tubacex, Manuel Moreu Munaiz believes relocation has increased unfair competitition in industry in Spain.
“We are in a situation where retired people’s pensions are bigger than the salaries paid to the people working in the jobs they left. Something has broken down. All the education and infrastructures we have created should be directed towards a society with decent salaries,” says Alejandro Legarda Zaragüeta, who knows the ins and outs of Spanish industry after 20 years as managing director of CAF.
The certainty that we are on the threshold of a phase of consistent interest rate rises – the Fed could implement two or three further hikes this year – is spurring the European banks to endow themselves with liquidity from the ECB, at low prices.
Recently there’s again been talk of a two-speed Europe. During the mini-summit two weeks ago, Merkel, Hollande, Italy, Rajoy, gave the green light to this latest spin. The Spanish PM has said the country would be at the nucleus of this.