Salgado: Cajas will be recapitalised before tests

 

Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado said on Tuesday the more volatile situation in financial markets required tougher bank stress tests this year and Spain's cajas would be recapitalised in time for them. "Some Spanish cajas did not pass the (last) stress tests ... and they demonstrated the requirement of capitalisation ... of around 2 billion euros," she told a news conference after a meeting of European finance ministers.

"When the next stress tests are carried out, this recapitalisation of the cajas ... will be more than complete and therefore there is no reason why the same thing should happen: that is to say, some of the cajas not passing the test," she said.

Salgado said there had been no formal discussion in Brussels of including liquidity measures in the next round of European banking tests. Some of the Spanish banks tested last time around were no longer in existence and so would not be included in the tests, she said.

"In the case of Spain, we want to be able to offer the same level of transparency as last time," she said. "The situation in financial markets is now more tense than it was in July ... and this situation in terms of volatility and tension has to logically be reflected in more demanding stress tests."