The major Spanish banks closed the first half of 2015 with decidedly satisfactory results, confirming what was already highlighted in last year's financial statements. Rating agencies review their short- and long-term ratings favorably. The stock market judges the performance and prospects of Spanish groups more positively than it does for other European banks.
One wonders how this favorable present ties in with the massive bank bailout that Europe was forced to finance just three years ago. The national economic situation offers numerous positive indications: in the last 5 quarters, the economic balance of Spain was higher than the average of the Eurozone. Households and businesses have made important progress in the process of adjusting their financial position. The unemployment rate, however, remains extraordinarily high, only recently surpassed by Greece.
The Spanish banking system continues to stand out for its strong international projection: foreign assets make up 33% of consolidated assets, a decidedly significant share that is growing further. This feature helps to mitigate the problem of the quality of the loan portfolio, which in any case is improving.
The banking circuit has undergone a considerable reduction: between the end of 2012 and the first quarter of 2015, 40 deposit institutions were eliminated and over 6.300 branches closed.
However, there is a significant dark corner in the recovery process of the Spanish banking system. In the portfolio of the bad bank (SAREB) and of the Spanish credit institutions, real estate assets for an amount close to €130 bn are forcibly frozen (waiting to find a buyer). A considerable part of them (for example, land) lacks a real market. A different consideration of these activities would significantly change the assessment of a large part of the Spanish banking system.
