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Spain: State owned banks talking merger

By  |  September 28, 2016

Spain’s bank rescue fund said on Wednesday it would look into a merger between state-owned banks Bankia and Banco Mare Nostrum that would potentially create a new entity with total assets of over $268 billion.

The Spanish state owns a 65 percent stake in both Bankia and BMN after a $27 billion bailout at the height of the euro zone debt crisis.

High costs and low returns are expected to spur a new wave of consolidation in Spain’s banking industry, where the number of banks has already dropped to 14 from 55 since the 2008 financial crisis.

A new round of mergers could take that total down to just single digits, putting the country on a par with Britain and France.

Full Content: Reuters

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