European ministers offered Spain up to 100 billion euros, or $125
billion, on Saturday according to a euro zone official speaking on the
condition of anonymity, but Spanish officials did not indicate how much
they would accept.
At a news conference after European finance ministers met Saturday, Luis
de Guindos, the Spanish economy minister, said in Madrid that the
government had requested emergency financing for its banks.
Mr. de Guindos insisted that Spain should not be seen as the fourth euro
economy requiring a bailout after Greece, Ireland and Portugal
since the money would be used only to recapitalize banks.
“This has nothing to do at all with an absolute bailout,” he said “It is
financial support aimed and given to the Spanish bailout fund and the
Spanish bailout fund will inject this capital to those Spanish
institutions that require it as stated by the International Monetary Fund.”
Mr. de Guindos said that the terms of the emergency loan would be “very
favorable” and would be set in coming days, but he said that “the amount
allows us to have an ample safety margin,” in terms of covering any
other unexpected problems among Spain’s weakest banks. A loan of 100
billion euros is expected to over estimated capital requirements for the
banks and provide an additional safety margin.
A euro zone official said the amount would be finalized when the results
of the independent banking audits under way in Spain are available.
The news came after the International Monetary Fund, in an apparent bid
to pressure Spain to accept financial help, released a report days
earlier than expected saying the banks would need nearly $50 billion in
extra capital just to guard against a deepening of the country’s
economic crisis.
0 comments:
Post a Comment