Spanish banks are tightening up their strategies in preparation for a global slowdown says Jules Stewart.

Spanish banks appear to have survived the credit crunch relatively unscathed. However, as Jules Stewart reports, the country’s current account deficit and reliance on foreign markets is causing concern among some commentators.

Banks are discovering that there will be a regulatory price to pay for the support of governments and central banks – and it could be a costly one. Karina Robinson investigates.

BBVA may have grabbed the headlines for missed acquisitions but a bank that posts 20% a year profits growth, that pays a top return on equity as well as being a byword for prudence cannot be all bad, as Karina Robinson discovers.

Recent stock market falls in the construction sector are making Spain’s seemingly invincible property market look vulnerable, with all that entails for an economy that is highly dependant on it. Neil Tyler explains.

Spain’s 12-year economic boom may be slowing down but the government’s handling of the ETA problem remains the prime polarising issue. Karina Robinson reports.

Banesto is 89% owned by Santander and is run as a quasi-autonomous entity. Banesto’s small size relative to its parent ensures that it can be used as “a trial bank or a laboratory” for new technology and as a business model, which (if successful) can then be implemented across the group, chairman Ana Patricia Botín, told The Banker in a past interview.

Can greater efficiency gains be made by Spain’s cost-effective banks – and will their forays into Anglo-Saxon markets succeed? Karina Robinson reports from Madrid.

At 150 years old, Spain’s stock exchange holding company, BME, is powering ahead to the top rankings of the world’s bourses while speculation continues over its future as an independent exchange. Jules Stewart reports.

Forty-four per cent of Spanish bank BBVA’s 2005 attributable net profit came from Latin America. There is both a downside to this – excessive dependence on a risky region – and an upside – an incredible opportunity to leverage a strong franchise.