MADRID | BFA-Bankia Group said Tuesday it had closed ‘Operation Hispania’, disposing of a large portfolio of failed loans. The deal involves a total of €800 million. The Spanish troubled bank, which is in need of a multi-billion public capital to maintain its activity, sold the loans to two north European investment funds. They are Aktiv Kapital in Norway and Oko Investments in Luxembourg. The operation has been structured in two…
MADRID | Irritation is high in Madrid for partners’ lack of support in enforcing a curfew, let alone a truce, in the raging battle it holds against overwhelming market forces. As leaders go on holiday they leave Spanish assets exposed to utter onslaught. The massive sell-out of sovereigns, securities and shares cannot continue for long without throttling any chance of survival by the time Brussels returns to normal business. Desperate attempts…
MADRID | The hotel sector in Spain has released its June data. It’s mainly positive news, in line with the optimistic expectations of the financial City of Madrid and efforts of the industry to reactivate the domestic demand without missing foreign tourist interest. Year on year, tourist visit rate increased by 4.7 percent to six million. Accumulated growth in the first half of 2012 was of 2.9 percent to 25.1…
Some investors sell shares that they don’t actually hold but borrow under the expectation that prices will fall. If they are right, when they buy back, the stock comes at a cheaper cost than the amount they were paid for those same shares and so sellers can pocket the difference as a profit. A day after the Spanish financial regulator CNMV ruled a full suppression of these short selling practices over…
How scared are investors of Spain’s debt? Very. So much so that judging by their behaviour, financial analysts in Madrid are increasingly adopting the language of their country’s politicians, if for different reasons. That is war out there for Spain’s sovereign paper, no one doubts. The Spanish debt has now been under extreme tension during a week and the pressure has pushed credit costs up whether it is for two…
By Cruz Sierra, in Valencia | valenciaplaza.com | Bad timing. It must feel at least challenging to become chairman of the employers' association Cierval in the region of Valencia. The autonomous government recently asked Madrid for help to face its debts, while Madrid itself negotiates in Brussels softer deficit targets and the conditions of a banking bailout for the country's financial industry. José Vicente González said in an interview with VP that…
MADRID | The financial City of Madrid was coming Monday to the conclusion that a rapid intervention from the European Central Bank would be the only effective barrier to support Spanish sovereign bonds in the markets. The alternative of using the assistance programmes of rescue funds European Financial Stability Facility and European Stability Mechanism to buy debt in the primary and secondary markets had pushed aside the ECB recourse. This…
MADRID | The extensive sell-out on Friday shows the desperate situation Spain is facing. Shattered confidence on the government ability to overcome a looming crash landing, is sending shivers down the spine of investors. People are starting to bet Spain will be forced to bailout one of these days. But, unlike other salvaged countries, its sheer size prevents a rescue package from providing a way out in soothing its woes….
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | Hanseatic Brokerhouse's director general in Spain, Gabriel Montalto, said in a conversation with The Corner that international investors have lost trust over Italy and Spain. Also, he considers that both countries will have to publicly accept the reality of the situation if they want to win back the confidence of markets. Question. Apart from the approval of the national parliaments, are there any other…
MADRID | www.consensodelmercado.com | Ibex listed companies have rewarded their shareholders, regarding dividends and other payments, with €16.082 billion in the first six months of this year. The figure represents a 8.5 percent rise over the amount paid in the same period in 2011. According to the report published by BME (Bolsas y Mercados), the operator of all stock markets and financial systems in Spain, the result also marks a…