Spain's dramatic economic downturn over the past year has revealed the existence of an unsuspected new star in the country's financial system. As liquidity dried up, with banks tightening their lending criteria to impossible levels due to the global credit crunch and the rise of domestic default rates, state-owned Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) has emerged as the country's most viable provider of credit. ICO, once widely ignored by the Spanish population, is now regarded as a source of hope in the midst of the financial crisis, and a television advertisement by BBVA has even listed 'ICO loans' as one of the most interesting products that the bank can offer to its clients.
New role