Bad loans as a proportion of total lending in Spain rose to a record in June as the country’s weak economy spurred a jump in missed payments.

Spain is to offer foreigners residency permits if they buy houses worth more than €160,000 as part of an attempt to reduce the country’s huge number of unsold homes.

Spain is to offer foreigners residency if they buy houses worth more than €160,000 as part of an attempt to reduce the country’s huge number of unsold homes.

Spanish banks will need a total of €59.3bn in extra capital to ride out a serious economic downturn, an independent report said yesterday, removing a major obstacle in the way of an international bailout for Madrid.

US stocks have posted solid gains for the third quarter, although the ride got bumpy at the end.

An independent audit of Spain’s troubled banks shows a shortfall of €59.3bn to cover for an economic downturn.

France will unveils its 2013 budget today, seen as a test of whether Socialist president Francois Hollande is serious about cutting government spending and reforming the country’s economy.

Europe’s fragile financial calm was shattered today as investors worried that violent anti-austerity protests in Greece, and Spain’s debt troubles, showed that the continent still cannot contain its financial crisis.

The Bank of Spain has warned that the Spanish economy is still contracting at a "significant rate".

Only a few years ago, Spain’s banks were seen in some policymaking circles as a model for the rest of the world. This may be hard to fathom now, considering Spain is seeking €100bn to bail out its ailing lenders.

Spain's national debt rose to 72.1% of GDP in the first quarter, up from 63.6% in the same period last year, according to the Bank of Spain.

Spain’s grinding economic misery will get worse this year despite the country’s request for a European financial lifeline of up to €100bn to save its banks, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said today.

Bankia, the fourth largest bank in Spain, could get less than the €19 billion in aid it has asked for, two sources said, prolonging uncertainty surrounding a rescue that has added to fears that Spain itself would need a bailout.

Conservative Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy insisted yesterday that the country’s banking sector would not need an international rescue, as concern over the bailout of nationalised lender Bankia sent its stock price plummeting while Spain’s borrowing costs soared.

Conservative Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy insisted today that the country’s banking sector would not need an international rescue as concern over the bailout of nationalised lender Bankia sent its stock price plummeting while Spain’s borrowing costs soared.

Concern over the bailout plans for troubled Spanish lender Bankia and the country's ability to finance itself sent the nationalised bank's share price plummeting and Spain's borrowing costs soaring today.

International institutions will oversee an audit of Spain’s banks aimed at reassuring investors that bailout costs will not spiral as the prospect of new Spanish borrowing threatens to further inflame the eurozone crisis.

Concerns that Europe's debt crisis could drag down parts of the continent's banking system hit most global markets today, though social network Facebook's imminent flotation buoyed sentiment on Wall Street.

Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will set aside €4.5bn to meet a Spanish government order to boost real estate provisions as analysts speculate the industry may need more.

Spain will force banks to increase provisions against real estate loans by about €30bn and will hire two auditors to value lenders’ assets in a fourth attempt to clean up the industry.

The Spanish government is expected to announce a new round of financial sector reforms later today.

Spain’s National Statistics Institute confirmed today that the country’s economy shrank 0.4% in the first quarter, placing it back in recession.

Spain’s economy contracted 0.4% in the first quarter of the year and the country is now in a technical recession, the central bank said today.

The ISEQ index dropped 2.35 points yesterday to close at 3,139.34. Eurozone debt fears have resurfaced, with Spain the main focus of the concern.

Worries about Spain’s finances are intensifying as the country’s bond yields on international markets rose despite expectations of a new round of austerity measures.

A slide in Spanish stocks and bonds deepened yesterday as investors’ concerns that prime minister Mariano Rajoy may require international aid rattled international markets.

THE ruling Socialist Party braced itself for stinging losses in regional and municipal elections amid unprecedented street protests that have caught the imagination of the nation.

Madrid: Spanish banks that together need as much as €15.2 billion to meet minimum capital levels now must persuade investors that their battered balance sheets offer the potential return to match the risk.

Madrid: The number of foreclosed homes for sale in Spain may triple next year as new accounting rules prompt lenders to dump their depreciating assets, according to the co-founder of a website that advertises repossessed properties.

PORTUGAL’S Finance Minister has said “the risk is high” Ireland will have to ask for an international rescue, and said the Irish Government must take into account what is best for the eurozone as well as the country when it decides whether to seek financial help from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

The Bank of Spain has stepped in to bail out a regional savings bank after merger talks with another similar entity broke down, officials said.

The London market was under pressure again today as the break-up of the Dunfermline Building Society sent tremors through the bank sector.

The corruption trial of Spain’s most powerful banker, who bought Britain’s Abbey National, was suspended just hours after it started today when the defence presented new evidence.

Bank of Spain governor Jaime Caruana said euro zone inflation risks are on the downside.

A third of the countries gearing up for euro cash have opted out of printing large denomination notes, saying the big bills are too unwieldy for citizens used to more meagre pocket change.