Shares in Spanish banks fell after the country's first bank bailout since the start of the global crisis raised broader funding concerns, though analysts said the best capitalised banks might benefit from any sector shakeout.
Last night the government said the Bank of Spain would take over regional savings bank Caja Castilla la Mancha and provide funds to help the bank, backed by up to €9 billion ($11.90 billion) in government guarantees.
Until then, Spanish authorities had boasted that their banking system had been relatively unscathed by the financial crisis thanks to strict regulation that forbade banks from investing in complex debt instruments.
But CCM was brought low by a slower-burning crisis in Spain's property sector, which boomed for a decade thanks to an explosion of credit.
Savings banks like CCM, mostly unlisted and with close ties to regional governments, are most exposed to the impact of the slump, analysts believe.
“We believe that main risks are among the Spanish savings banks, while the Spanish banks among our coverage sample have relatively comfortable capital levels, with the average core capital ratio standing at 6.7 per cent,” wrote BPI in a research note.
Though Pastor and Bankinter had no refinancing needs during 2009, the smaller listed banks were potentially more exposed to those risks.
“(So) this might also be an opportunity for the larger Spanish banking players, such as BBVA and Santander, which might end up being seen as a safe haven,” BPI wrote.
Espirito Santo said in another note that investors might use the CCM news “as an argument to short the whole sector on the back of possible additional bailouts in the future.”
At 8.32am, Spanish banks had pared back initial losses, with Banco Popular down 4.85 percent, Santander down 5.43 per cent and BBVA down 4.42 per cent. Pastor had lost 4.09 per cent and Bankinter 2.97 per cent.
Most were outperforming an average 5.3 per cent fall in European banks overall.
Reuters