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Spain banks don’t need more rescue cash: EU

Spain will likely need no more money from Brussels to fix its financial industry after receiving €41.4 billion ($54 billion) to shore up banks hammered by a 2008 property crash, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

Spain banks don't need more rescue cash: EU
President of Bankia, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, at a press conference in Madrid on May 26th 2012. Photo: Dani Pozo/AFP

Spain secured a loan of up to €100 billion from its eurozone partners last year to help rescue the banks, brought to their knees by a mountain of bad debt built up when the property bubble burst.

Under the programme Spain has received two payments to recapitalize lenders and fund a "bad bank" known as Sareb to absorb the soured property assets of bailed-out lenders.

"There is at present no reason to foresee further programme disbursements," the commission said in a review of the bank rescue programme.

"Two disbursements were made so far in a total amount of about €41.4 billion for the recapitalization of state aided banks and the capital injection into Sareb."

Other Spanish banks either found money from private sources, or they were not identified as needing extra capital when the authorities examined their books under various stressed scenarios, it said.

The European Commission cautioned that a "robust and credible" business plan was needed for Sareb, which is expected to eventually take on €55 billion in problem loans and assets.

In exchange for the European rescue loan, Spain agreed to clear up its financial sector.

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday Spain was close to completing the agreed measures and urged it to continue with its reforms of banking supervision.

"The clean-up of undercapitalized banks has reached an advanced stage, and key reforms of Spain's financial sector framework have been either adopted or designed," it said in a report.

"The bulk of all of the measures for the entire programme have now been completed."

At the same time, Madrid is struggling to curb its budget shortfall in line with European Union agreements and the latest report suggested Brussels could again give Spain more time to meet its commitments.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government has vowed to lower the public deficit to 4.5 percent of gross domestic product this year and down to 2.8 percent in 2014.

Spain managed to reduce the public deficit to 6.74 percent of economic output in 2012, down from 9.4 percent in the previous year, but still wide of a European Union-agreed target of 6.3 percent.

The European Commission predicts Spain's deficit will hit 6.7 percent of economic output in 2013 and 7.2 percent in 2014, well above agreed targets.

Brussels has already extended the deadline for Spain to bring its deficit under an EU limit of three percent of economic output by one year to 2014.

In its latest report the European Commission hinted it could show even more flexibility. While Spain's public deficit in 2012 fell further than many expected, meeting the 2014 limit "appears very challenging" and a revision "cannot be excluded", it said.

Almost half of the banking rescue loans from Brussels — €18 billion — went to one lender, the BFA-Bankia group, which was nationalized last year to rescue it from a mountain of bad loans.

Bankia's chairman José Ignacio Goirigolzarri was optimistic about the outlook, however.

"I would like to see real value in Bankia from 2014, 2015 and for the privatization process to begin," Goirigolzarri said at a conference organized by Spain's Europa Press news agency.

Bankia reported a loss of €19.1 billion in 2012 but said it hoped to start turning a profit in 2013, targeting a net profit of €1.2 billion in 2015.

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BANK

Deutsche Bank to pay $130m to settle US bribery probes

Deutsche Bank will pay $130 million to settle a foreign bribery probe and fraud charges in precious metals trading, US officials announced on Friday.

Deutsche Bank to pay $130m to settle US bribery probes
A woman walks past the offices of Deutsche Bank in London. Photo: Tolga Akmen / AFP
The bribery case relates to illegal payments and to false reporting of those sums on the bank's books and records between 2009 and 2016, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
   
The bank “knowingly and wilfully” kept false records after employees conspired with a Saudi consultant to facilitate bribe payments of over $1 million to a decision maker, the DOJ said.
   
In another case, the bank paid more than $3 million “without invoices” to an Abu Dhabi consultant “who lacked qualifications… other than his family relationship with the client decision maker,” the DOJ said.
   
In addition to criminal fines and payments of ill-gotten gains, Deutsche Bank agreed to cooperate with government investigators under a three-year deferred prosecution agreement.
 
   
In the commodities fraud case, Deutsche Bank metals traders in New York, Singapore and London between 2008 and 2013 placed fake trade orders to profit by deceiving other market participants, the DOJ said.
   
The agreement took into account Deutsche Bank's cooperation with the probes, DOJ said.
   
“Deutsche Bank engaged in a criminal scheme to conceal payments to so-called consultants worldwide who served as conduits for bribes to foreign officials and others so that they could unfairly obtain and retain lucrative business projects,” said Acting US Attorney Seth D. DuCharme of the Eastern District of New York.
   
“This office will continue to hold responsible financial institutions that operate in the United States and engage in practices to facilitate criminal activity in order to increase their bottom line.”
   
“We take responsibility for these past actions, which took place between 2008 and 2017,” said Deutsche Bank spokesperson Dan Hunter, adding that the company has taken “significant remedial actions” including hiring staff and upgrading technology to address the shortcomings.
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