Between headlines of Bankia's demise and the growing deposit outflows from Spanish banks, perhaps the market is doing its job. According to the EC's Stability Report, via UBS, one measure of bank sector capacity and efficiency (population per bank branch) shows Spain in a dismal worst place with the least efficiency (or highest over-capacity). Of course, we would suspect that whatever state-funded reach-around bailout the Spanish government comes up with next will not contain a 'revert staff/branch levels to European norms' provision - better to pay up for mis-allocation of capital.
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The crux of the "pain for Spain" was exposed in August, when the world learned that despite all attempts to the contrary, Spanish banks are no longer perceived as safe by the locals, and the result was a record 5% deposit outflow in... Read Post
Yesterday we wrote about Bankia, the Spanish bank that was subject to reports of $1.3 billion in deposit flights. Anyway, at one point it was down over 20%, before ending down about 10%. Well today the mood is different. And the sto... Read Post
Note the following sequence of events, bolded numbers, and dates: Bank Of Spain Formally Nationalizes Bankia, Says Insolvent Bank Is "Solvent", Adds There Is No Cause For Concern, Zero Hedge, May 9 Spain is taking over Bankia by con... Read Post