Spanish banks need €60 billion capital injection: independent consultants
29 Sep 2012
Spanish banks are in need of a combined capital injection of around €60 billion, according to a report that Madrid claimed showed the finances of the nation were more robust than warranted by market concerns.
Even as analysts remained sceptical, the results come as a rare boost for embattled Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, struggling to contain regional rebellions as also the financial crisis.
He had promised a figure far below the €100-billion provided for by Brussels.
Seven of the 14 biggest banks in Spain failed stress-tests conducted by consultants at Olivery Wyman who assessed the strength of 115,000 loans.
According to the consultants, who were helped by the Big Four auditors and supervised by the European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bankia Group, the lender that requested €19 billion of state aid in May, now had a capital shortfall of €24.7 billion.
Banco Popular, the sixth biggest in the country by assets, had a shortfall of €3.2 billion, around as much as its €3.58 billion market value - suggesting that it would almost certainly need state aid.