Castilla-La Mancha To Seek €800 Million Bailout

 

The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha has announced it expects to seek a central government bailout of €800 million to cover maturing debts.

The figure required would account for approximately 10% of the region's debt obligations, roughly €8 billion which is almost €4,000 per registered person living in the region using 2011 population figures*.

These extraordinary figures are still dwarfed by Cataluña, who earlier this year asked for up to €5 billion in state aid. Cataluña's estimated debt is €35 billion, just short of €5,000 per registered person living in the region using 2011 population figures*.

Regional bailout funds are provided by Spain's central government through the "Regional Liquidity Fund" which was setup to deal with regional financing issues since many were closed out of international finance markets. The fund is partly financed by the state national lottery.

María Dolores de Cospedel, president of Castilla-La Mancha, said she was embarrassed to announce the need for state aid.

*Poulation figures are based on 2011 figures provided by Google PublicData. Castilla-La Mancha: 2,115,334 - Cataluña: 7,539,618