Brussels, 20/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission believes that the €100 million promised by the eurozone to Spain will only be used to recapitalise and bail out Spanish banks after the collapse of the property bubble. Speaking on Thursday 20 September 2012, a spokesperson for Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner, said the money was not planned to be used for anything but helping Madrid refinance Spanish banks, thus brushing aside a report in Spanish newspaper El País that the Spanish government is hoping to use some of the loan for other purposes. The needs assessments for the various banks will be published at the end of next week and Spanish economy minister Luis De Guindos has already suggested that the total will be in the region of €60 billion.
On Thursday, the Spanish treasury successfully rolled over €4.8 billion of public debt, including nearly €4 billion in three-year bonds at around 4%. Some €860 million of ten-year bonds were successfully issued at 5.7%, 1% less than for the previous emission of this type. Some analysts feel the yield would have been higher for a bigger emission. (MB/transl.fl)