Risk Espana rankings 2012

An injection of liquidity from the European Central Bank has eased funding risks for Spanish banks, but derivatives market participants still have to prepare for a wave of regulatory change. The Risk España rankings show BBVA regaining top spot from its rival Santander

For Spanish banks, the past year will go down as one of the toughest on record, as the industry battled sometimes extreme levels of volatility and risk aversion, fuelled by concerns over Europe’s sovereign debt crisis – in November, Spanish government bond yields peaked just below 7%, their highest level since 1997.

Derivatives businesses faced multiple challenges, ranging from a simple lack of demand to incoming capital rules and a shortage of US dollar funding. The banks that performed best in