Santander's Botin: EU Contribution to Spanish Banks Could Solve Problems - Efe

   By Ilan Brat 
 

The chairman of Spain's largest bank said Monday that the European Union could solve the problems in his country's financial sector by contributing EUR40 billion in some form to some of its most troubled banks, including Bankia SA (BKIA.MC), Spanish state-owned news agency Efe reports Monday.

In comments to the news agency in Brasilia, Brazil, where he accompanied Spain's king during an official visit, Emilio Botin, of Santander SA (STD), rejected the prospect of a bailout for Spain's government, saying any kind of "rescue" would be "bad for Spain."

He advocated finding a way for some European entity or stability mechanism to send around EUR40 billion to some of Spain's troubled banks, including Bankia, Catalunya Caixa and others.

"Nothing more is needed," Efe quotes him as saying.

The Spanish government has been struggling to construct a viable plan for recapitalizing Bankia, now the country's third-largest bank by assets, after its management requested EUR19 billion from the government in May.

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