Que? Lend money to a rival bank? (banks and banking developments in Spain)

?QUE? LEND MONEY TO A RIVAL BANK?

Spain’s accession to the EEC at the begining of the year has brought the country’s financial institutions into a world of unrestricted competition.

“A year ago the capital market was a desert. Now, with some help from the foreign banks, the Spanish banks are familiar with most of the wonderful formulae of the Euromarkets,” said a Spanish bank analyst in Madrid. “Although the bond market hasn’t seen quite the same surge of innovation as the syndicated loan market, the developments over the last year have been impressive.