The nightmare continues for Spanish banks. At the Madrid Stock Exchange the title of Bankia opens the trades losing almost 30 points, to then recover slightly. A vertical collapse that also drags the shares of all the other institutions into the red: Banco popular pere 4,23%, Santander 1,25%, Bankinter 3,95% and BBVA 1,16%. The Ibex 35 index drops by 0,7%.
Last Friday, with the markets closed, Bankia has revealed that it has to ask the state for other funds to save itself: a good 19 billion euros. Government sources quoted by the newspaper El Pais let it be known that the Spanish Executive could recapitalize Bankia through the contribution of government bonds and receiving shares in exchange. Government bonds which in turn could be used as collateral to receive loans from the ECB. European Union authorities are expected to give the green light to Bankia's recapitalization plan by June.
The institute has already collected almost 4,5 billion in public loans. After the conversion into shares, the Spanish state thus took over control of the fourth largest bank in the country. Standard & Poor's downgraded Bankia's credit rating to 'junk', prompting several lenders to cut their ratings on the Bankia stock. The affair has rekindled speculation on the hypothesis that Spain may find itself having to ask for international aid.
Meanwhile the spread between XNUMX-year Bonos and the corresponding German Bunds continues to widen, which in the same minutes reaches a new high of 513 basis points, after closing the last session at 494. Yields on ten-year Spanish bonds thus rise to over 6,5%.
