Credit Suisse's Madrid-based FIG team's input into Bank Zachodni's all-share merger with KBC's Kredyt Bank has allowed Santander to build the market presence it wanted in Poland without putting the squeeze on its capital ratio.
Western Europe
Latest articles from Spain

Who is going to save Spain's savings banks?
June 1, 2012A sharp increase in provisioning requirements is likely to drive consolidation in the Spanish banking sector. But the country's largest banks – many of which have remained profitable thanks to their operations in other regions – are cautious about what may lurk on the balance sheets of the troubled savings banks.
Basel risk weights leave banks with unequal burdens
March 26, 2012The process of risk-weighting assets will become even more crucial to calculating bank capital adequacy under Basel III than it is already. Which is why there is growing dissent about the unexplained discrepancies between how different banks are measuring the same risks.
Europe’s sovereign-linked issuers adapt to the new normal
March 1, 2012The eurozone sovereign debt crisis has not just affected national treasuries, but also European supranationals and government-related entities. Philip Alexander hears from a range of larger and smaller borrowers across the eurozone and beyond.
Andorran banks forced to look further afield
February 1, 2012Traditionally reliant on neighbour Spain for their customer base, Andorra’s banks have been forced to reassess their strategies in light of the country’s – and the rest of Europe’s – economic malaise. Instead, they are targeting the Latin American market, as well as disillusioned clients of Swiss banks, attracted to a national banking sector renowned for its discretion and stability.

Spain's big players cushioned, cajas struggle
June 30, 2011Spain's biggest banks are shrugging off the full impact of the weak domestic economy and the collapse in the country's property market, but the country's cajas are not faring so well.

José María Roldán says don't forget Basel II
December 8, 2010The leading member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision explains some of the key concepts of Basel III, and how it relates to Basel I and II. Writer Michael Imeson
Cajas shrug off stress test failure
August 30, 2010Despite five of Spain's savings banks featuring among the seven institutions to fail the EU stress tests, the surprising results can be seen as a positive turning point in the cajas' 200-year history, with reform, consolidation and new access to foreign capital likely to strengthen their vaults. Writer Jules Stewart

Post-crisis reality bites for Spain's Cajas
July 6, 2010Once considered one of the better-placed survivors of the financial crisis, the property bubble bursting in Spain has hit the country's savings banks hard, resulting in calls for consolidation in the sector. Writer Rodrigo Amaral
Across the board
July 6, 2010Santander's acquisition spree has left the bank with a major IT challenge. But as José María Fuster, its CIO, explains, the bank has embraced IT integration as an all-encompassing transformation programme. Writer Wendy Atkins