THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Spain is poised to receive up to €100bn (£81bn) to rescue its debt-laden banking sector after eurozone finance ministers today held emergency talks on its financial crisis.
Economy Minister Luis de Guindos will hold a news conference at 6.30pm UK time to explain “actions on the recapitalisation of the Spanish banking system,” the ministry said in a statement.
He will speak after ministers from across the shared currency nations on Saturday afternoon embarked on a conference call to outline a rescue deal, as a formal request by the eurozone's fourth biggest economy appeared imminent.
Fellow euro nations are expected to demand that Spain carries out reforms in its financial sector in exchange for coming to the aid of its stricken lenders - but the deal is not expected to come with economic conditions.
"The amount on the table at the moment is as much as up to €100bn but this hasn't been decided yet," a senior EU official told AFP during the nearly three-hour call. The money will come with conditions attached entailing a "clean-up of the financial sector", the source said.
The Swedish prime minister signalled the package would be in that region. "There was a question of more than €80bn," Fredrik Reinfeldt said in a radio interview. "It is in fact a question of one of the biggest financial rescues in recent history." » | Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels, and Telegraph staff | Saturday, June 09, 2012
