Spain told its banks on Friday to set aside another 30 billion Euros to cover potential losses on real estate and ordered an independent audit of their debts, an effort to restore confidence in a sector that is at the heart of the country's financial crisis.
Spain’s plan to rid banks of toxic real estate assets is reviving the politically heated debate over how creditors and taxpayers should share the vast losses still being incurred by the Euro zone debt crisis. Nowhere is the issue in sharper relief than in Ireland.
Spain took over Bankia, the country's fourth biggest lender, on Wednesday, trying to dispel concerns over the government's ability to clean up the financial sector four years after the banks were hit by a property market crash.
The Gibraltar Government issued a statement on Tuesday saying it took note of comments made by Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo indicating the Spanish government is abandoning the Trilateral Forum which involved three-side talks: Spain, UK and Gibraltar.
Spanish shares have fallen and the interest rate on the country's benchmark 10-year bond has risen amid fresh worries over the banking sector. The Ibex market fell by 3% and bond yields rose above 6%, a level seen as unsustainable.
Spain-based energy group Repsol has sent letters to oil majors including Exxon-Mobil, Chevron and Conoco-Phillips warning it would sue them if they try to invest in YPF or its assets, reports the British newspaper The Financial Times.
The Argentine decision to seize control of 51% of YPF oil and gas giant came into effect on Monday as a decree was published on the Official Gazette. From Spain a new barrage of criticisms in support of Repsol and condemning Argentina started the week.
Toning down its initial strong reactions to the nationalization of Spanish controlled YPF Spain’s Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo said that Argentina should pay a fair price for the oil company citing a similar case in Bolivia this week.
After a two-day session, Argentina’s Lower House voted late Thursday night 207-32 in favour of expropriating energy corporation YPF, clearing the way for President Cristina Fernandez to sign the controversial bill into law.
Bolivian President Evo Morales Government’s decision to nationalize the main power transport company that was in hands of Red Eléctrica Española (REE) generated claims from Spain, while United States and the European Union showed their “concern.”