Spanish banks borrowed a record €402bn (£316bn) from the European Central Bank
in July, leaving them as far as ever from returning to capital markets, and
heaping further pressure on Madrid as it tries to avert a full sovereign
bailout. The banks borrowed 10% more than the €365bn they tapped in June,
Tuesday's data from the Bank of Spain showed. Spiralling debt costs and balance
sheets ravaged by a domestic property bubble that collapsed in 2008 have shut
most domestic banks out of the bond markets. The banks' use of the ECB facility
has increased sharply this year, rising from €161bn in January, and the sector
was propped up in July with the promise of a European rescue package – which it
has yet to tap – worth up to €100bn. The pattern is similar if less acute in
Italy – like Spain at the sharp end of the eurozone debt crisis – where banks
held €283bn in ECB funds in July compared with €281bn in June, Bank of Italy
data showed last week. In Spain, only heavyweights with big operations abroad
such as Santander and BBVA continue to have few problems raising funding from
the market. One likely factor in the July increase was the higher charges that
some clearing houses were levying on the use of Spanish bonds – which many
domestic banks have invested heavily in – as collateral for raising funds, one
analyst said. The eurozone has avoided entering a technical recession, defined
as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, because growth was flat over the
first three months of 2012. Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight predicted that
GDP will fall again during the current quarter. Archer said the eurozone was
"struggling against tight fiscal policy in many countries, high and rising
unemployment, muted global economic activity and ongoing serious sovereign debt
tensions that weigh down on confidence and limit investment. Stock markets,
however, were cheered by the news as the contraction was smaller than expected
and share prices rose across Europe. The FTSE 100 finished 32 points higher at
5864, while the DAX closed 0.8% higher. The European commission vice-president,
Olli Rehn, told CNBC that the EU and the European Central Bank would take action
"once certain conditions are met". Rehn added that the euro was "irreversible".
1 comment:
Draghi suggested the use of the ECB to buy Bonds of the weakest nations (i.e. bankroll) in order to bring down their borrowing costs. This would be on an indefinate timeframe (i.e. for ever)
- Markets Rise on hope
- German Central Bank says 'No Way Draghi! Do you think we are stupid?'
- Markets fall on disappointment
- Repeat cycle for several weeks/months
- Greece/Spain/Italy Bond costs drift back to Danger Levels (and some)
- Germany caves in under pressure but puts final vote to the people
- Finland and Holland agree and follow suit
- Draghi protests
- Vote too late anyway as Greece goes 'Tango Uniform'
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