Risk Espana rankings 2013

The top two banks in Spain retained their positions in this year’s Risk España rankings but, in a market where reality is beginning to bite, analysts are asking questions about their capital positions

Following a summer of euphoria in Spain has come a winter of discontent. The optimism around Spanish banks prompted by the promise of the European Central Bank last July to underwrite the future of the euro has been replaced by a wary concern that the sector faces a long period of austerity before the good times return.

In the wake of the so-called ‘Draghi put’, and the introduction of outright monetary transactions in September, equity and credit markets were quick to re-rate the Spanish