Top Stories

Spain

No Picture

Markets 5th September 2014

Spanish banks seek profits without lending

MADRID | By Francisco López | The purchase of Barclays’ retail banking division in Spain by CaixaBank has further accentuated the gap among the three major lenders (Santander, BBVA and Caixa) from the rest of their competitors. Experts insist on this process of bipolarisation of the Spanish banking system, with very big banks in the national and even international level, and other local, small or very specialised banks. All banks have done their homework with the restructuring, but now they face the most complicated challenge: to adapt their business models to the new scenario emerged after the crisis and become profitable again.

No Picture

In Europe 4th September 2014

Europe’s PMIs mixed data confirms the need of new, strong action from ECB

MADRID | The Corner | August PMI figures confirm what investors already know: Europe’s economy continues to expand at a very low rate. Indeed, the final data have been revised downwards in those cases where no changes were expected, and they are worse than July’s. Final services PMI: 53.1 vs. 53.5 preliminary and 54.2 in July (highest level of the last 3 years). Specifically, PMI services index in Spain rose to 58.1 points in August from 56.2 in July, representing the biggest increase since December 2006. The consensus of analysts expected a slightly lower number of 55.5 points.

montoro

In Europe 3rd September 2014

Spain may press criminal charges against Pujol tax fraud

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | According to the US-based organisation One, corruption takes around $1tn a year out of poor countries and kills millions. Yet this evil is not strange to developed nations. In Spain, 127 politicians are facing corruption charges although they have not lost their jobs. The last big scandal affects former Catalan leader Jordi Pujol, who in July admitted hiding an inheritance abroad for more than 30 years. A storm embarrassing the current ruling regional government who has called a referendum in November on whether the region should break from the rest of Spain. Madrid may seek criminal charges, Spanish Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro (see picture above) said on Tuesday. For some analysts, this could be a strategy to dent nationalism support.

No Picture

Spanish economy 29th August 2014

Santander to issue contingent convertible bonds (CoCos) for third time in 2014

MADRID | The Corner | Santander will issue contingent convertible bonds (CoCos) worth up to 1,500 million euros. In order to reach its aim, the bank will start a road show to sound out the market interest and, in case of suitable conditions, it will start the operation on Monday or Tuesday next week with the collaboration of Credit Suisse, HSBC, JP Morgan, Société Générale and UBS. This issue of CoCos will be the third that the Spanish bank carries out this year, after the issue of 1,5000 million euros in March at an interest rate of 6.25% and another one in May when it sold CoCos worth 1,500 million dollars at 6.375%.

No Picture

In Europe 29th August 2014

Eurozone’s credit continues to squeeze in July, especially in Spain

MADRID | The Corner | The ECB published yesterday figures on bank lending that show the  outlook keep being worrying. On the one hand there was an improvement in credit to households and on the other hand a further squeeze on credit to business, especially a pronounced decline in countries like Spain. The overall balance in July is a contraction of 1.6% YoY, which represents a further improvement since it got to the bottom during November, December and January (-2.5% YoY each month). Credit in the private sector continues to contract (-2.3% YoY) in line with last month but improving over July 2013 (-3.7% YoY ) and in general over the monthly evolution in 2014. In Spain the credit contracts € 7bn (-1.2% MoM from -1.04% MoM in June) and it moves back by € 77 bn YoY (-11.7%). In Italy the set-back is even bigger MoM (-3.6%) but is limited to +1.6% YoY.

UBS Debt to GDP Euro area

In Europe 26th August 2014

Peripheral Europe’s bond rally might soon come to an end

MADRID | The Corner | Peripheral equities and bonds have been strongly favored by Draghi’s speech last Friday at Jackson Hole with intense improvements in sovereign credits from Portugal, Spain and Italy, which have reached record lows. In particular, Spain’s 10-year bonds yields are at 2.12% under the 2.38% of comparable U.S. Treasuries and especially today the Spanish Treasury has reduced sharply the interest rates of three- and nine-months bills in an auction of € 3,500 million at historical lows, without entering in negative territory like on the secondary market. Nevertheless, UBS strategists are starting to change their bullish view on peripheral Europe basing on market and fundamental arguments.

Economy minister de Guindos

Spanish economy 26th August 2014

Merkel supports Luis de Guindos to be the next President of the Eurogroup

MADRID |The Corner | After a meeting between Mariano Rajoy and Angela Merkel in Santiago de Compostela, the German chancellor gave her support to the candidature of the Spanish Economy Minister, Luis de Guindos, to succeed Jeroen Dijsselbloem as President of the Eurogroup. As Barclays analysts comment, “with Italy’s and France’s leftwing governments and UK in or out of the EU, Spain is now a more attractive partner.” Regarding Germany, Angela Merkel recognised that the crisis in Ukraine is damaging the German economy. Nevertheless, Merkel affirmed that she forecasts a good annual growth if nothing dramatic happens.

Gruas torre Pingon1

Spanish economy 22nd August 2014

Spanish construction sector will grow in 2015 for the first time in 6 years

MADRID | The Corner | The construction sector in Spain will grow next year by 1% compared to 2014, according to Cesce, a company specialized in credit services and commercial risk management. Thus this growth will change the downward trend that had maintained the sector during the last six years. According to Cesce, the building will boost the sector but the public works and engineering will have to reach the bottom and it will not start to recover until 2016, when it will reach 3% growth YoY.