Showing posts with label GM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GM. Show all posts

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Five cajas failed Europe-wide stress tests on banks last year. The Bank of Spain has forced them into a round of mergers, reducing their number from 45 to 17 last year. High levels of bad property loans at the cajas are seen as a major risk for Spain as it slashes its budget deficit to stave off fears it will need an Irish or Greek-style rescue from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Estimates of the cost of recapitalising the savings banks range from €17bn (£14.4bn) to €120bn, with consensus falling in the €25bn to €50bn range, according to Reuters. Economists say Spain could afford that level of rescue without seeking outside aid.The banking sector has so far set aside €88bn to cover losses on total loans of €439bn to real estate and construction. Spain's borrowing costs have soared amid worries that the sovereign debt crisis that forced Greece and Ireland to seek bailouts will spread to Portugal and then Spain. A budget deficit of 9.3% of GDP in 2010 and stagnant growth have added to the worries, though the government is hitting deficit reduction targets and pledges pension and labour reform shortly. Analysts welcomed the promise of caja recapitalisation. "This underpins hopes that Spain is now on the right track," Commerzbank strategist David Schnautz told Reuters.