Performing real estate assets in Spanish banks must now be provisioned at 30 percent of its book value, which will raise the average coverage ratio for all real estate assets to 45 percent. Then, troubled and toxic real estate assets will be transferred to an asset management company (sociedad de gestión de Activos) and the rest of the portfolio will be independently audited. The picture of the situation within the banking system in…
MADRID | The injection of public money and nationalisation of Bankia ends a compelling need with a solution, earlier discarded, that in the US or the UK has been long ago adopted but neither the Germans or the French want to face, in spite of many of their banks being as weak as some the Spanish entities may be. François Hollande’s arrival to the presidency of France is also good news:…
MADRID | Banco Santander on Monday announced that the banking group in Spain, including Banesto, will require €2.7 billion before taxes to comply with the new legislation passed last May 11 on real estate asset provisions. These charges are in addition to the reserves already made compulsory by a decree-law in February, of which €2.3 billion before taxes are still pending, as stated in a filing sent to the Spanish regulator…
MADRID | The Spanish infrastructure and services company FCC reported this week it had obtained €2.4 billion in revenues in the first quarter of 2012, on par with the same period last year, with international revenues increasing by 15.6%. FCC obtained a net attributable profit of €16.6 million in the first quarter, suffering a decline of €23.9 million year-on-year, reflecting the impact of the company’s most cyclical activities. Earnings before interest,…
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | The director of strategy and macroeconomics at Inverseguros SVB, Alberto Matellán, believes that austerity and growth are not only compatible but should be applied together. Mantellán thinks the European Central Bank could put again in use its monetary policy tools, such as the Securities Market Programme (SMP) or the Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO). Should the ECB lower again interest rates for the euro zone? The…
LONDON | Were the tide changing within the shaken frontiers of the European Monetary Union, austerity-driven core euro nations could do worse than open the European Investment Bank’s window to let some fresh capital aid in. Barclays analysts said Friday in a note to investors that using the EIB to complement budget constrictions would be a feasible option and the probability of this happening is growing: this time it is…
MADRID | Repsol released Thursday the company’s results in the first quarter of the year excluding YPF, posting net income of €643 million, that is, 12.4% higher than the €572 million reported in the year-earlier period. Including YPF, quarterly net profit rose to €792 million, an improvement of 3.5% from €765 million year on year. The improved results are mainly due to the improvement of Repsol’s crude oil and gas realisation…
MADRID | Ever since double entry accounting was developed in Middle Age Italy, banks have been able to mask shortcomings till the very verge of their implosion. After all, in every single balance sheet, assets always match liabilities to the last penny. The figures’ real value just becomes a matter of opinion, as recent discomfitures have shown. Lehman Brothers led the way many others have followed. The turn has come now…
By Carlos Díaz Guell, in Madrid | Spain, its public debt as much as its equity markets remain a paradise for investors on short positions who bet demand will go down, while investors interested in the long term just abandon the country because of the lack of reasonable expectations. They are not necessarily evil speculators but simply professionals representing many investors who seek higher returns to their capital and now Spain…
MADRID | Rescuing BANKIA will contribute to cut short doubts on short-term Spanish banking solvency. It was no secret that BANKIA was thrown in deep waters by the demanding government requirement to uplift real estate portfolio, having the dubious merit to top the list of entities laden with bad loans. Its intention to mend this state and play on its own gathered widespread disbelief, as big potential partners turned their backs…