Spain Fin Min: Cajas Need Core Capital Ratios Of Up To 10%
26 January 2011 @ 13:28
MADRID (Dow Jones)--Spain's government is considering requiring some of the country's unlisted banks, or cajas, to lift their core Tier-1 capital ratios to 9% or 10% in an effort to strengthen the banking system and shore up investor confidence.
In an interview Wednesday with state broadcaster TVE, Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said these ratios could be required of "institutions that are unlisted, depend on wholesale markets financing and that don't have private investors."
On Monday, the government raised the core Tier-1 capital requirement for all financial institutions to 8% and said it would require some cajas to have even higher levels. It estimated listed banks and cajas would have to raise around EUR20 billion in new capital.
Most private sector analysts have higher estimates for the capital needs of Spanish banks, which are struggling after the collapse of a decade-long housing boom. Barclays Capital, for example, says they need an additional EUR32 billion.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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