Saturday, June 9, 2012

Euro zone finance ministers will support Spain banking sector

Euro zone finance ministers will support Spain banking sector, Euro-zone finance ministers june 9 2012, draft statement Euro zone finance ministers, Spain banking sector problem : Euro-zone finance ministers will discuss a commitment to provide as much as €100 billion ($125 billion) in support for Spain's ailing banking sector on Saturday afternoon, an official from a euro-zone country said, as the currency union hustles to contain its worsening financial crisis.

The official said senior finance-ministry officials spent Saturday morning and early afternoon preparing a draft statement that ministers would discuss during a conference call.

Spain, which is reeling from a real-estate meltdown, hasn't requested aid for its financial firms yet, the official said, adding that no disbursements are likely to come before the end of the month, when two independent consulting firms have finished their assessment of the country's banking sector.

However, the euro zone agrees that "quick and radical action" targeted at Spain's banking sector is necessary and that the ministers' statement was meant to come "in anticipation with of a request," the official said.

A second euro-zone official said that request could come later Saturday.

A spokesman for the Spanish government declined to comment on the draft statement ahead of the ministers' call.

The first official said the draft statement mentions €100 billion as the "top figure" of support that Spain could get, but that the exact size, form and time frame of a bailout for the banks wasn't yet decided.

"That figure is mostly for the markets and doesn't mean that the actual disbursements have to be that much," he said.

In a report published late Friday, the International Monetary Fund said Spanish banks would need to set aside at least €37 billion to protect themselves against a worsening economy, but cautioned the figure was a minimum.

The draft statement focuses on conditions linked to Spain's financial sector, but also requires Spain to resolve macroeconomic imbalances that the European Union has previously revealed, the euro-zone official said.

He said that most likely Spain won't see the kind of in-depth and regular evaluations from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF that Greece, Portugal and Ireland have been subjected to.

Spain has been under strong pressure from the rest of Europe—as well as international organizations like the IMF—to request support for its banks before highly anticipated elections in Greece next Sunday. Many observers fear that the leftist Syriza, which has opposed the austerity program attached to the country's two massive bailouts, may emerge as a winner and that resistance to implementing the rescue program could eventually force Greece out of the euro.

Such a move could send further shockwaves throughout Europe and the wider financial sector, and officials want to prepare themselves for the fallout of the vote.

European officials said on Friday that Spain had accepted it needed the money, but was resisting conditions that other euro-zone governments were insisting should be attached to the aid.

The second official said the aid is likely to come both from the euro zone's current rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, and its successor, the European Stability Mechanism, which is expected to come into existence later this summer. The aid will likely come in a mixture of cash and bonds that can be used to prop up weak banks, he said, adding that no final decision on the form of the aid has been taken yet

For the latest updates on the stock market, PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market Today
For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

Related Post:

1 comment:

  1. Now find all top Indian stock market analyst with their stock market recommendations at one place

    ReplyDelete