John Ward – Spanish Crisis : Former IMF And Bankia Boss Charged With Massive Fraud – 6 July 2012

Spain’s Bob Diamond is Rodrigo Rato. The difference is, Rato is heading for jail

Spain’s anti-bank majority is celebrating a major victory after the country’s high court opened a criminal investigation into Rodrigo Rato, the former head of Spain’s biggest mortgage lender, Bankia. Rato, once a big wheel within the IMF, has been given a court date to face criminal fraud accusations relating to the downfall of Bankia, the banking giant at the epicentre of Spain’s economic disaster.

John Ward – Spain Crisis Exclusive : Dash For Banking Consolidation “A Recipe For Worse Disaster” – Insinders La Caixa Singled Out As”Heading For The Rocks”- 15 June 2012

Playing with fire in Spain

Spanish banks have borrowed more money from the ECB than any other country – €227.6 billion. Between them, Spain’s three biggest banks Banco Santander, BBVA, and La Caixa, “have combined assets of about $2.7 trillion. Spain’s three biggest banks are nearly twice as big as the entire Spanish economy. Now it looks like the third of those is in dire straits.

Golem XIV – The Eurofiscal Corruption Contest – The Spanish Entry – 14 June 2012

Let me make it clear straight away – the lies, corruption, cowardice and greed of Spanish bankers and government officials is nothing special. What is happening in Spain now, reminds me of Northern Rock in the UK, Hypo in Germany and  CountryWide in the US. So please do not think that I dislike Spain or of the ordinary people of Spain. The people I detest in Spain are the same people I detest in Britain and every country: The Cabal of corrupt Bankers and Political parasites.

John Ward – Spanish Bankia Ruse : Draghi Bats The Stinky Ball Back To Madrid – 30 May 2012

“But eeth oonly leetle beet of thyeet, Mario…”

I’m amazed it’s taken this long to be honest, but Mario Draghi’s ECB yesterday told the chaps at Bankia thanks but no thanks in relation to their planned sh*t-for euros exchange via the ‘recapitalised’ Spanish bank. As I posted earlier this week, he had no choice: otherwise every bank from Arnhem to Zaragossa would’ve been at it.

Mish/ Mike Shedlock – Stubborn Stupidity, Fantasyland Thinking, Hopeless Bluffs – 30 May 2012

The Financial Times says Madrid in ‘game of chicken’ with EU.

I disagree. I think Spain’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy is a stubborn fool engaged in Fantasyland thinking, unable to think straight.

The issue regards a proposed Ponzi financing scheme to recapitalize Spanish banks.

Mish/ Mike Shedlock – Spain’s Plans To Recapitalize Bankia Will Put Germany, ECB At Risk; When Does The Ponzi Scheme Collapse? – 28 May 2012

Inquiring minds are interested in the recapitalization plans for the Bankia. Please consider this chain of posts.

ABC News reports Spain’s Bankia set for massive bailout.

Spain’s fourth-biggest bank Bankia says it is certain of securing the 19 billion euros ($24 billion) in state aid it is seeking in the largest bank bailout in the country’s history.

John Ward – Euroblown : Official Bankia Solid…Heading Draghi’s Way – 28 May 2012

Forget Grexit: this is euroexit

In an amazingly cunning stunt, the Spanish Government plans to pay for Bankia’s nationalisation with its own debt…and then get Mario Draghi’s European Central Bank (ECB) to exchange this junk for cash. And throughout ClubMed, poorer citizens are dumping the banks in favour of cash, while the 3% are dumping the euro in favour of London property.

BBC News – Spain’s Bankia Seeks 19bn-Euro Bailout From Government – 25 May 2012

Spain’s fourth-largest bank, Bankia, has asked the government for a bailout worth 19bns euros ($24bn; £15bn).

Bankia also restated its results – now saying it made a 2.98bn-euro loss for 2011 rather than the 309m euros in profit it announced in February.

Read the whole story at : http://www.bbc.co.uk link to original article

John Ward – European Banknotes : The Suddenly Missing Y Chromosome In Greece – 18 May 2012

The strange case of Y = 0

Some of you may recall a post of mine on the subject of how one tells the origin of euronotes by country, and how the Bank of Greece has gone into the business of printing its own unauthorised version.

At the time, I pondered at length during several posts as to why Mario in Frankfurt didn’t seem to be worried about it. Did he know anyway? some Sloggers asked: to which the answer is ‘Yes’, because each country issuing Toytown notes uses a prefix in the note number to denote the origin. Without that, the note isn’t legal tender.

John Ward – Spain Crisis : Deloitte Reports €1BN Overstatement In Bankia Savings & Loan Division – 10 May 2012

Spanish crisis moves up a gear as doubts grow about Madrid bailout resources

Sources in troubled Spanish bank Bankia confirmed to leading Spanish newspaper El Mundo yesterday that auditors Deloittes had discovered what they called ‘an inflated statement of liquidity’ for 2011 in the Caja division of the Group. Its shares dropped 6 percent on the news, its third straight day of heavy losses.