STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 25 May 2012

[Eugene]

72. Bankia set to ask Spain for more than $19 billion

Source: Reuters

Bankia set to ask Spain for more than 19 billion

By Carlos Ruano and Sonya Dowsett

MADRID | Fri May 25, 2012 8:59am EDT

(Reuters) - Spain's Bankia SA is set to ask the state for a more than 15 billion euros ($19 billion) bailout on Friday, marking another rise in the cost of a drawn-out rescue of the country's fourth-biggest bank.

The capital shortfall at Bankia is key to a wider funding gap in Spain's banking system, which some investors believe could drive the euro zone's fourth-largest economy to seek international aid - a move that would create fresh uncertainty around the whole currency union.

Spain is nationalizing Bankia, which holds some 10 percent of the country's bank deposits, after it was unable to handle heavy losses from a 2008 property crash. The government insists the bank is a one-off case.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/25/us-bankia-shares-idUSBRE84O0AM20120525