Spanish banks have credit ratings cut by Moody’s / Spain hit by rise in bad bank loans

Ratings agency Moody's cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks on the 18 May 2012, a further blow to a country that was struggling to deal with the bad debts of its banking sector.

Shares of Bankia, the Spanish bank that was partly nationalized in the previous, went into a steep decline on the 17 May 2012 on reports of a run on the bank’s deposits that was subsequently quashed both by the lender and the government.

• Primary Source

El País: Tag: Bankia http://elpais.com/tag/bankia/a/

El País, 17.5.12: Bankia denies run on deposits as lender's shares plunge http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/05/17/inenglish/1337254012_723820.html

ESO: Background information: Spain bids to pin down real estate losses http://www.europeansources.info/record/spain-bids-to-pin-down-real-estate-losses/

Deutsche Welle, 17.5.12: Shares for Spanish Bankia lender plummet again http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15956927,00.html

ESO: Background information: Spain: Financial Sector Assessment, Preliminary Conclusions by the Staff of the International Monetary Fund http://www.europeansources.info/record/spain-financial-sector-assessment-preliminary-conclusions-by-the-staff-of-the-international-monetary-fund/

EL Mundo, 18.5.12: La Bolsa abre en rojo y la prima en máximos tras la rebaja de Moody's http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/05/18/economia/1337326191.html

EUObserver: 18.5.12: Spain hit by downgrades amid Greek contagion fears http://euobserver.com/19/116305

Banco de Espana: Press Release, 18.5.12: Data on doubtful loans (March 2012) http://www.bde.es/webbde/en/secciones/prensa/Agenda/Datos_de_credit_ab67f770c520731.html

Spiegel Online International, 18.5.12: Fears of Bank Runs Mount in Southern Europe http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/fears-of-bank-runs-increase-in-europe-a-833879.html

El Mundo, 18.5.12: Budgetary discipline will bear fruit (via PressEurop) http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/2010301-budgetary-discipline-will-bear-fruit

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