Spanish banks display their risky appetite for property

Spanish banks display their risky appetite for property : "They are officially banks but they have become Spain's main real estate agents, according to data from the country's banking sector which reveals the extent of their risky property assets.

The Bank of Spain had asked all 17 of the country's fragile regional savings banks, which account for about half of all lenders, to supply it with details of their exposure to the collapsed real estate market.

Unsurprisingly, the savings banks held far more risky assets than the main banks, based on a calculation of the figures earlier this month by AFP.

The nation's seven main banks held EUR 45 billion (USD 61 billion) in risky assets and the 15 savings banks that have so far published their figures had around double that to EUR 90 billion."

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