Spain’s Bankia Close to Selling Florida Bank to Chile’s BCI – Sources
Spain’s Bankia SA (BKIA.MC) is close to selling City National Bank of Florida to Chilean bank Banco de Credito e Inversiones SA (BCI.SN) for close to $900 million, according to people familiar with the situation.
Mexico Records $4.99 Billion in First-Quarter Foreign Direct Investment
Foreign direct investment into Mexico rose in the first quarter of the year to $4.99 billion, largely as a result of reinvested profits by foreign companies in the country, the Economy Ministry said Wednesday. The Economy Ministry said the amount was up 14% from the preliminary figures reported in the year-earlier quarter, and was the highest for a first quarter since 2007. Foreign direct investment numbers are usually revised higher as more investments are registered with the government.
Bank of Spain Finds Banks Hide Real NPL Ratio
Bank of Spain inspectors have detected that the banking sector is hiding part of their clients’ real nonperforming loans by refinancing them once and again, reports El Mundo in its Wednesday Internet edition. Citing a confidential document dated April 15, the newspapers adds inspectors have concluded that major Spanish banks have been agreeing to refinance once or even twice clients’ mortgages without acknowledging the real few possibilities of getting those loans back
Bank Of Spain Finds Banks Hide Real NPL Ratio on Retail Mortgages -Report
Bank of Spain inspectors have detected that the banking sector is hiding part of their clients’ real nonperforming loans by refinancing them once and again, reports El Mundo in its Wednesday Internet edition. Citing a confidential document dated April 15, the newspapers adds inspectors have concluded that major Spanish banks have been agreeing to refinance once or even twice clients’ mortgages without acknowledging the real few possibilities of getting those loans back. The average nonperforming loan ratio for these type of retail mortgages in the sector isn’t 4.1%, as it’s officially declared, but rather 6.5%, according to El Mundo.
European car sales end losing streak, respite may be brief
FRANKFURT/LONDON – Europe’s ailing car market ended a streak of 18 straight months of falling sales, though a number of one-off factors suggested that a sustained recovery will be harder to achieve. A pick-up in Germany and Spain in addition to continued robust demand in Britain delivered a 1.8 percent increase in new car registrations last month, to 1.08 million vehicles. However, the figures published by automotive industry association ACEA on Friday were flattered by two extra sales days in many European markets after Easter holidays fell in March rather than April, with last year’s weak April also helping the year-on-year comparison.
Spain Bank Monitoring Mission Starts Next Week
The International Monetary Fund is planning to send two missions to Spain in the coming weeks, one to study the country’s ailing bank sector and the other for the nation’s annual economic assessment, a fund official said Thursday. The IMF was appointed as the technical adviser for a 100 billion euro ($128.87 billion) European bailout of Spain’s banking sector.
IMF: Spain Bank Monitoring Mission Starts Next Week
The International Monetary Fund is planning to send two missions to Spain in the coming weeks, one to study the country’s ailing bank sector and the other for the nation’s annual economic assessment, a fund official said Thursday. The IMF was appointed as the technical adviser for a 100 billion euro ($128.87 billion) European bailout of Spain’s banking sector
ECB Examines Impact of Financial Transactions Tax
The European Central Bank is examining the potential impact of Europe’s proposed financial transactions tax on money markets, the bank’s top economist Peter Praet said Thursday, after top ECB officials raised concerns that the tax could have adverse effects on still-weak financial markets.