Spanish bank bailed out by Government

Bank of Spain steps in to help Spanish building society

Yesterday the Bank of Spain decided to intervene to help save the Castilla-La Mancha (CCM) building society. This is the first time that the bank of Spain has needed to intervene in a bank or building society since the case of Banesto in 1993. CCM had conceded a total of 19,536 million euros in loans by the end of 2008 and had deposits worth 17,265 million euros which are guaranteed by the Guarantee Fund for Deposits up to a value of 100,000 euros per client.

Under Spanish law the Bank of Spain is allowed to intervene in Banks or building societies which find themselves in danger of losing their liquidity. This is why the chairman of the building society, Juan Pedro Hernández Moltó, was called to attend an urgent meeting with officials from the Bank of Spain was notified of the bank’s decision to intervene before tomorrow’s meeting of CCM directors which was to discuss possible solutions to the building society’s problems.

CCM was created in 1992 following the fusion of three building societies in the region of Castilla- la Mancha. The new building society made a profit of 29.8 million euros in 2008 which is 87.1% less than in 2007. The heavy losses incurred by CCM were put down to the increase losses in its financial assets of approximately 140 million euros. Amongst others CCM had conceded loans to companies which later went into administration such as Martinsa-Fadesa.

The intervention by the Bank of Spain has interrupted the negotiations for the possible fusion between CCM and the Andalucian building society Unicaja which began in February this year. CCm’s situation was viewed as precarious by analysts in the sector due to its exposure to the property sector and loan defaulters. However, the fusion between CCm and Unicaja would have created the fifth largest building society in terms of the volume of deposits of its clients and assumed profits. In addition it would have been the first building society which consisted of financial entities belonging to different autonomous regions of Spain. Yesterday Unicaja refused to comment on CCM’s situation.

After the intervention by was announced yesterday the first measure that was introduced was the substitution of the administrators of CCm by others designated by the Bank of Spain. This measure is designed to ensure that CCM fulfils its obligations and to give complete peace of mind to depositors and creditors. The supervisor of operations appointed by the Bank of Spain reminded people that CCM is still a solvent organization with net positive figures but that solutions to guarantee its future were required. The new administrators of CCM can,amongst other measures, name a new team of directors or concede or revoke powers for the development of CCM’s day to day operations.

The Bank of Spain defended its actions saying that the decision to intervene in CCM was taken after conversations held with the building society over the last few weeks came to nothing.

The now ex-chairman of CMM called for its clients to trust in the building society ‘now more than ever’ because it was now in the ‘best hands possible’. He added that CCM’s offices would open today as usual.

For its part the Bank of Spain insists that the Spanish banking sector remains solid although it is not immune to the effects of the International financial crisis.
CMM represents less than 1% of the assets in the Spanish banking system. It has interests in 32 diverse businesses and has 582 branches in Spain. Its workforce numbered 2,292 in 2007 and its financial donations to various social activities and organizations was estimated to be 56.7 million euros in 2007.

See: Spanish saving banks # Banks in Spain

Chef of the year 2009: Ferran Adria

The Culinary Institute of America last night recognised the work of the Spanish chef, Ferran Adria, who was awarded the prize Chef of the Year for the second time last night. The prize which is entitled ‘Augie’ honours the memory of the French chef Auguste Escoffer (1846-1935), for his innovations in traditional cuisine.
Ferran Adrià said that the prize of chef of the year which he was awarded last night in New York at an awards ceremony held in the exclusive restaurant Cipriani en Manhattan is confirmation that Spanish cuisine is one of the best and most innovative in the world.

Adrià also said that his prize was also recognition for his brother Albert who is the second head chef in his restaurant 'El Bulli' in Roses, Oriol Castro in Catalonia. In his acceptance speech Adrià said that honesty and passion were the two characteristics that differentiated a good chef from an excellent one.

Spanish chef José Andrés Puerta who owns five restaurants in the US said that Adriá’s success was down to his innovations and said that in the world of cuisine there was a before and after with regards to Ferrán Adrià who had in his words ‘revolutionalized’ the world of cuisine.

The Royal Spanish Academy changes synonym

The Royal Spanish Academy to remove the word "tonto" (stupid) as a synonym for Galician

In 2013 when the 23rd edition of the Royal Spanish Academy dictionary is due to be published the word tonto which translates as stupid will be removed as a synonym for Galician the word used to refer to people from the region of Galicia. According to the secretary of the Academy, José Manuel Blecua, the article will have been amended on the Royal Spanish academy’s website (www.rae.es) within two months. The decision to remove the word is based on the lack of any written documents with the word tonto used in this way although it is used commonly in Costa Rica in colloquial language.

In the current edition of the Royal Spanish Academy dictionary published in 2001 the term gallego (Galician) is explained as somebody from Galicia as well as north easterly wind, person born in Spain that lives in America, stupid, stutterer, the language of Galicia and small river lizard amongst other things. The word El gallego was used in the past to refer to emigrants firstly to the region of, Castilla during harvesting time and appeared in the first edition of the dictionary in 1734.

In four years time the Royal Spanish Academy will get rid of the word tonto in reference to gallego but will recover an expression which appeared in 1914 as the sixth meaning of the word although this was later withdrawn. This expression is mesa gallega or mesa de gallegos, which sometimes means ‘that in which wheat bread is missing’ and on other occasions when it is preceded by the verb hacer (do or make) means take home all your opponent’s money in a game.

Two years ago a Spanish student, Mar López, organized an association to protest against the use of the words stupid and stutterer in reference to the people of Galicia. Her association which is called Garapino asked for help from all the academies of America and also campaigned for the Galician language to be defined in as much detail as the Catalan or Basque languages. Garapino also requested that the Galician language be moved up to second or third place instead of sixth place which it currently holds.

Translated from this El País article.

Agreement between Spanish Telefonica and Vodafone

Telefónica and Vodafone plan to share networks throughout the world

According to reports in the Spanish media this week, Telefonica and Vodafone are looking at the possibility of integrating their mobile telecommunications networks in countries such as Spain where they are in competition against each other.

Last week it was revealed that the two companies, which are the largest European mobile operators in terms of the value of their stock, are in the process of negotiating the fusion of their networks in the UK, an idea which could be extended to the rest of the world.

Both companies have networks in Spain, the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Czech Republic. The objective of the fusion would be to significantly reduce investment in infrastructure in order to improve competitiveness and face up to the fall in income and demand due to the current economic crisis.

Forum of Spanish Business in New York

Spain to launch new image in New York today: Made in/by Spain

Miguel Sebastián, the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Commerce will present a new project in New York today called Made in/by Spain aimed at changing Spain’s image abroad. The project hopes to promote a modern image of Spain using well known Spanish products and brand names. The plan which is supported by a budget of 44 million euros will be presented at the first meeting of the Forum of Spanish Businesses in the United States which will be be opened today by the prince and princess of Asturias and which will be attended by a group of Spain’s top business men and women.

According to the Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Commerce Made in/by Spain will consist of 50 annual events surrounding the promotion of technological innovation by Spanish companies together with the promotion of industries related to education, culture, fashion and gastronomy. The project is being presented in the US because it is the world’s leading economy and also because it absorbs around 18% of Spain’s international exports. In addition Spain is the fourth largest foreign investor in the US with an investment of 10,000 million euros in 2007, ten times more than in 2004.

There are also plans to extend the project to other countries.

Gibraltar sovereignty debate reopened in Spain

PSOE and PP united in demand for sovereignty over Gibraltar

Yesterday during a meeting of the Foreign Commission the PP and PSOE both urged the government to reopen its negotiations with the United Kingdom over the sovereignty of Gibraltar. In fact, the demand for sovereignty over Gibraltar to be returned to Spain is officially included in every legistlature.

The PP asked for firmness in the face of the ‘uninterested attitude’ displayed by the Prime Minister of Gibraltar. José Ignacio Landaluce, a member of parliament for the PP main opposition party, stressed the damage that Gibraltar caused Spain through its fiscal and environmental policies. Rafael Román, a member of parliament for the PSOE, proposed two lines of action. The first was to reclaim the right over the sovereignty of Gibraltar and second was the adoption of measures to win the confidence of Gibraltarians.

The most expensive places in Spain

Barcelona and Madrid - more expensive than London

Tokyo is the World's most expensive city according to a recent study by the British magazine the Economist. In order to compile the index the study carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit compared the income and cost of living (in dollars) for citizens in cities all over the world.

Paris was found to be the 3rd most expensive city in the world followed by Copenhagen, Oslo, Zurich, Frankfurt, Helsinki and Geneva while London which previously occupied 8th position dropped to 27th on the list, much cheaper than Barcelona at 18th place and Madrid which occupied 20th place in the index.

Caracas stands out amongst Latin American cities because it has risen from 35th place to 21st place and is situated ahead of Chicago, Los Ángeles and New York (all in 23rd place). Other Latin American cities amongst the first hundred most expensive cities in the world are: Guatemala (67), Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo (both at 83) Bogotá (86) and Santiago (97).

Despite the lowering of the cost of living in some of its capital cities, Western Europe continues to be the most expensive region of the world and all major European cities with the exception of Manchester and Reyjavik are placed amongst the first 50 most expensive cities in the world.

Oslo, which previously occupied first place in the index has dropped to fifth place while Reyjavik, which was previously the 5th most expensive city in the world now occupies 67th place.

U2 world tour to start in Barcelona

U2 world tour to start with concert in Barcelona, Spain

U2 will begin their world tour on 30th June this year with a concert in Barcelona according to the publication Billboard.The tour which will include around a hundred concerts will keep the band on the road until the autumn of 2010.

This week U2 are busy promoting their new album ‘No line on the horizon’ which is their first album since 2004.

According to Billboard tickets for concerts will cost between 24 and 200 euros and will be available for purchasing online in Europe from the middle of March. Tickets for the US concerts will be available from the end of March.

The US leg of their tour is expected to begin in Chicago on 12th September after completing thier European concerts on 22nd August.

Spanish government protests over visit of Princess Anne to Gibraltar

Spain makes quiet protest over Princess Anne’s visit to Gibraltar

Princess Anne, the daughter of the Queen of England, started a three day visit to Gibraltar on Wednesday despite protests by the Spanish government. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ángel Lossada, phoned the British embassy in Madrid on 16th January to express her opinion that the visit was "inappropriate" and could damage the feelings of Spanish citizens. A telephone call is the least forceful way of making a diplomatic complaint.

Yesterday Princess Anne opened a military clinic which is named after her. The clinic is located in an area whose sovereignty is under dispute because it was not included in the treaty of Utrecht.

Princess Anne was welcomed at Gibraltar airport on Wednesday with the playing of the national anthem. The prime minister of Gibraltar, Peter Caruana, was not there to meet her.

Films dubbed in Catalan

Regional Catalan government preparing a law so that half of all cinema screenings are dubbed into Catalan or shown with Catalan subtitles

The Culture Department for the Catalan regional government is preparing a law on cinema screenings which will force distributors to show half of all foreign films screened in Catalonia dubbed into Catalan or with Catalan subtitles.

During an interview on TV3 this morning the Catalan minister for Culture and the Media, Joan Manuel Tresserras, said that the Catalan cinema market had not been very successful in the past due to the ‘hegemony that had maintained the same situation that there had been at the end of Franco’s regime’ – a situation which he described as a ‘democratic deficit’ and ‘anomaly of the cultural system’.

He said that he could not ignore the ‘urgent necessity’ in Catalan Culture. He said that the regional government of Catalonia planned to have a draft bill ready by the summer. He also said that the government would encourage original version films with subtitles by taxing films which are dubbed. This tax would be collected by placing an added charge on tickets to see films which are dubbed.

Renewable energy agreement between Spain and Russia

Spanish government announces agreement to cooperate with Russian energy sector

The president of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has announced an agreement with Russia for more cooperation between both countries in projects of renewable energy, investigation, exploitation and the transport of combustible fuels.

According to sources from the Spanish energy sector the agreement is a ‘declaration of intentions’ in which Repsol YPF will play an important role.

Zapatero and the Russian president, Dmitri Medvédev, announced this initiative at the close of the first meeting of the Hispanic-Russian Civil Society which took place in the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid.

Zapatero said that he believed that the moment had arrived for Spanish and Russian interests to be tied together in order to take advantage of the potential of both countries in a globalized economy. According to the president of Repsol YPF, Antonio Brufau, Russia remains interested in the Spanish energy market.

At present Spain imports around 20% of its petrol from Russia although it does not depend on gas imports because there are no pipelines connecting it to the Russian network.

Zapatero said that he was convinced that Spain could be a strategic option for Russia given that it had leading companies in sectors such as finance, construction, energy, civil engineering and tourism. He also insisted that Russia is an attractive country as much for investment as for commerce.

The president of Spain also reminded people that Spanish exports to Russia grew at a rate of 40% over the last 3 years. On this point, Medvédev said that commerce between both countries amounted to approximately 10,000 million euros in 2008, a figure which is ‘colossal’ compared to a decade ago and ‘modest’ compared to the possibilities offered by both economies.

Basque nationalists lose overall majority

Ibarretxe wins Basque elections but lacks overall majority to govern

José Ibarretxe, the present lehendakari, won his fourth consecutive victory for the PNV (Conservative Basque Nationalist Party) in yesterday’s elections for the Basque regional government. The PNV won only 30 seats which means that it does not have an overall majority and lacks any guaranteed right to govern. As the numbers stand the PSE-EE won 24 seats, the PP 13 seats and the UPyD just 1. All of these parties together have enough votes to out vote the PNV which does not hold enough seats to give it an overall majority.

The results of yesterday’s elections means that the composition of a Basque government on the basis of the results will be extremely complicated. One of the problems is that the vote for former allies of the PNV the EA (Eusko Alkartasuna) and EB (izquierda unida) collapsed. Votes for EB plummeted leaving it with just 1 seat and EA were left just 2 seats. Aralar won 4 seats. Therefore Ibarretxe faces a difficult process of negotiation although he says that he is prepared to tall to ‘anyone’.

Patxi López, the leader of PSE-EE has for the first time in the history of the autonomous region of Euskadi has got the possibility of forming a government in his sights. However, at the same time the idea of forming a pact with the PP is not very appealing. Nevertheless the results of yesterday’s elections for the PSE-EE under Patxi López were very good with an increase from 19 to 24 in the number of seats for his party in the Basque parliament.

Meanwhile the izquierda abertzale (radical Basque left) who were not allowed to put forward any candidates in the Basque elections due to their links with ETA mean that for the first time they will not be represented in the Basque parliament. Their leaders asked for their supporters to spoil their voting papers so that an idea of the number of their supporters could be estimated. According to yesterday’s results they have around 100,000 supporters – a figure which shows a significant decrease in support compared to the elections results for 2005.