MADRID | Bankia’s Chairman brilliant performance in transforming the hole he found in his company as an opportunity to ransack the public coffers, has turned him in government’s shadow financial policy maker. His recipe to cure banking ills will receive little praise in economic circles. But it sounds extremely simple and effective. Writing down bad [...]
Everyone has forgotten the European Bank of Investment
By former director of the Catalan Institute for Finance, Ernest Sena | As if nothing had happened in Europe and the world over the past five years, the European Investment Bank continues working in the same line as it did fifty years ago. One must add that the EIB does very well what it does, nevertheless. The [...]
BANKIA plight undermines Spain’s credibility
MADRID | Utter disarray might sound a mild and tender description for the knock out effect BANKIA crash landing has inflicted on Spain’s credibility. Only a few days ago, the government downsized the issue to a trifle €7 billion support. The bill runs now at €24 billion, with the prospect to rise still higher. Spending [...]
Who will audit Brussels?
By Carlos DÃaz Guell, in Madrid | Following the steps taken by the Spanish government to increase the requirements of capital provisions to the banking system from 7% to 30%, that is some €30 more billion, the Eurogroup, seen the distrust generated by the Bank of Spain’s actions, asked the Rajoy government to commission an independent valuation [...]
Weekend link fest
A curated selection of links we hope can enlighten us all; some come from our corner, some do from other corners of the net. And as always, our comment widgets are anxious to get your suggestions. How a company becomes a listed company like, let’s say, Facebook Can London pay for the Olympic Games? We give [...]
You know nothing about the Grexit
JLM Campuzano, Citi strategist, in Madrid | I read half surprised, half indignant, that a competitor released today an investor note in which the pending exit of Greece from the European Monetary Union is given a week as a deadline. The arguments are all too well known: the Hellenic authorities have already breached the adjustment [...]
German equities feel the pain from Spain
LONDON | Contagion is an easy-to-spot force. The German stock market DAX 30 Index has since late March declined by 9.2% in euro terms, in an environment where the broader continental market, as represented by the MSCI Europe Index, has fallen by 10.6%. For mere market observers, this drop has followed a period of very strong [...]
Is Spain’s risk premium being exaggerated? Yes, say the big companies
By Julia Pastor, in Madrid | Report and counter-report, this seems to be the general trend in talking about the Spanish economy’s health. Wednesday it was the CEEC’s occasion to present a report. The nation-wide competitiveness council integrated by presidents of the big Spanish multinationals assured that “expected losses in the the banking sector are [...]
The soft core of core Europe
Just because most European languages attach a semantic Spartan-like element to the term austerity, it doesn’t follow that austerity must obviously be a more consistent policy than, let’s say, a profligacy programme. Common ancient history aside, the increasing doubts about the German and French economies doing well in spite of the stress the euro zone is going [...]
Monday’s chart: that bank deposit flight
From Afi analysts in Madrid, an investor note came Monday with the picture of that much talked about capital flight from the euro peripheral banking systems in the form of non-financial private sector bank deposits. The variation this year, although somewhat noticeable, has not accelerated and volumes remain above 2010 levels in Portugal, Spain and [...]
