The slowdown in the European cycle begins to appear on the figures about tourism in Spain. The drop in flow of foreign tourists from Germany and the UK, with a share of above 35% of the total, weighs down in part the evolution of total inflow of tourists during the first two months of the year. Yet, until now, we are only witnessing a containment in the growth rate after a exceptionally good 2011, considering it is a period of crisis, analysts…
By Carlos Díaz Guell, in Madrid | The second stage of Spain’s financial reform is going through a foggy tunnel in which stable entities have been left in a state of perplexity and confusion. The entities that aspire to be absorbed are too weak even to attract deals, the governor of the Bank of Spain is about to end his mandate and does not have the government’s trust, and the road…
From Renta 4 analysts, a confirmation that late payments rate was 7.91pc in January, the maximum level seen by the Spanish financial sector since December 1994. And it was 8pc for the depositary entities. The increase in both cases has been the highest since February 2009, but the experts said today that they discard further acceleration. “During the next months, the situation should be stable and late payments rate is…
By Carlos Díaz Guell, in Madrid | The volume of deposits of households and non-financial corporations suffered outflows of €120 billion in 2011 in Spain and Italy, adding even more pressure on both countries’ banks. The data come from the last quarterly report of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which analyses European banks’ response to higher capital requirements that the European Banking Authority (EBA) set in October last year…
LONDON/MADRID | Financial analysts in Madrid agreed in their notes to investors on Tuesday that the UK Coalition government’s intention of privatising part of the road network of the country is a subject of major interest for Spanish infrastructure and construction companies. Banesto Bolsa experts described the decision as a clear ‘opportunity’ for Spanish firms, some of which already have a vast presence in the British transport services sector, namely…
Jaume Matas, who was regional president of Balearic Islands, became Tuesday the first former autonomic premier and the second former national minister to face a prison sentence. The Provincial Court of Majorca condemned him to 6 years in prison for an offence of management fraud, a crime of falsifying an official document, a crime of commercial document forgery, a crime of malfeasance in competition with an offence of embezzlement and…
By Juan Pedro Marín Arrese, in Madrid | Spain’s government has pledged to close down 80 publicly owned enterprises, an impressive figure at face value. But most of the adjustment is grounded on the simple recipe of merging subsidiaries into mother companies. Thus the only tangible savings amount to allowances paid to suppressed Boards of Directors. A negligible €1 million cut off that will add very little in terms of budgetary…
By Fernando Rodríguez, in Madrid | Claudio Aguirre, board member at the Spanish bank Bankia confirmed in an interview with Consejeros magazine that the group intends to maintain its independence. Although the entity’s capital needs amount to about €9 billion, Aguirre says that being in a merger, Bankia could clean its balance sheet up against reserves, not only against income. What is your opinion about the third phase of the financial…
By Juan Pedro Marín Arrese, in Madrid | The Spanish government publicly claims success in limiting damage after having boldly taken the step to revise upwards the deficit target. But privately, it recognises that being forced by partners in the Eurogroup to trim it down came as a nasty surprise. Overconfidence had led Madrid to believe that the understanding attitude shown over Spanish budgetary problems would be enough to shore up…
A curated selection of links we hope can enlighten us all; some come from our corner, some do from other corners of the net. And as always, our comment widgets are anxious to get your suggestions. Anglo-Saxon banker-bashing, this time from one of them! Why a general strike in Spain is not what once was Fed’s bank stress tests? Don’t trust them The day the UK felt vulnerAAAble A review of…