Spain Formally Requests Eurozone Bank Aid

By AGENCIES

SPAIN has today lodged a formal request to its eurozone partners for financial aid of up to 100 billion euros (about 125 billion U.S. dollars) for its troubled banking sector.

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos made the request in a letter to Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker.

"I have the honor of directing myself to you in the name of the Government of Spain to formally request financial assistance to recapitalize the Spanish financial entities which require it,"De Guindos said in the letter.The Spanish Government valued the Eurogroup offer "very favorably," he said.

The aim was to finalize a memorandum of understanding in time for it to be discussed at an Eurogroup meeting on July 9.

The exact amount of the request is not included in the letter.Madrid said on Thursday that its banks would need up to 62 billion euros (about 78 billion U.S. dollars) to weather a severe financial slump, far less than the maximum 100 billion euros that has been offered by the Eurogroup.

A second, more detailed study to be carried out by Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and Ernst & Young, is to look at the valuation of banking assets, with a global figure due for release July 31 and a full breakdown due in September.