Brussels, 15/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 14 April, the Bank of Spain endorsed the bailout of four Spanish banks and nine Spanish building societies for a total of €17 billion. The building societies are all expected to request funding from the FROB state bailout fund. Lending establishments have until Thursday 28 April to agree on recapitalisation plans so that they can be assessed in the current batch of EU bank stress tests (see EUROPE 10356). The refinancing plans will need to be implemented to ensure that the capital requirements set by the Bank of Spain are met by the end of September this year. The sovereign investment fund “China Investment Corporation” has denied rumours that it has invested US$13 billion in Spanish banks. (M.B./transl.fl)