should they not be able to obtain private capital, although this is a possibility they consider unlikely in pursuing their strategies. two of them, bankia and banca civica, are taking steps for a future market launch. if the plans proposed come to fruition, in less than 30 days these institutions will be listed, the process envisaged under the new regulations will have concluded, and they will operate with capital higher than the minimum requirement set in the new legislation. another two banks, mare nostrum and effibank, are also negotiating placing their capital in private hands, and they intend to conclude the operation within the schedule set, placing the proportion necessary to obtain the level of own funds required to meet the new core capital ratio. in both cases, the avenue being explored, without ruling out other alternatives, is the direct placement of capital with wholesale investors. turning now to the other four savings banks, all of them have submitted their recapitalisation plans, a pre - requisite for applying for aid. the plans are in two parts : a business plan, with projections for profitability, leverage, liquidity and efficiency ( among other variables ) ; and a series of specific commitments regarding corporate governance and cost - cutting. bis central bankers ’ speeches these plans will be – and indeed are already – subject to scrutiny by various parties : by the banco de espana, which must give final approval ; by the frob and its external advisers, who may demand inclusion of commitments on top of those proposed, considering these as an essential input in the process of setting the price to be paid for the shares in which the frob invests ; and by the european commission, as the aid provided must be compatible with the european criteria on “ state aid ” and budget deficits. all three institutions are currently analysing the plans received. the savings banks, for their part, are taking the necessary steps remaining to adjust their structure to the new requirements. in some cases they have already created the new bank to which they will transfer their banking activity, and in others the necessary procedures are at different stages of completion. subsequently, in july, their assemblies will adopt the resolutions segregating their assets and liabilities and definitively transferring their financial business to the new bank. a key aspect will be the setting of the price at which the frob will participate in the capital of the new banks. as an initial step, the leading audit firms hired in this connection are performing both financial due diligence

javier ariztegui : the financial crisis and the restructuring of the spanish banking system speech by mr javier ariztegui, deputy governor of the bank of spain, at the apie ( the spanish association of economics journalists ) – uimp ( menendez pelayo university ) course, santander, 17 june 2011. * * * let me begin by thanking the apie ( the spanish association of economics journalists ) and the menendez pelayo university for inviting me to deliver the closing address at this seminar, which has discussed matters of great interest for our economy and financial system. this is the third year i have come to santander for this session, and the second year running that i will be briefly reflecting on the financial crisis and the restructuring of the banking system. that i should be here again is no strange occurrence. indeed, it was foreseen by the organisers since we are experiencing the deepest and most extensive crisis in recent decades, and we face a far - reaching restructuring and reform of savings banks. but my address today is from a different perspective than that of my last visit. in june 2010 the royal decree - law that created the fund for the orderly restructuring of the banking sector ( frob by its acronym ) had been in force for a year. one of its aims was to boost integration processes to create sounder and more efficient institutions. at that time the main negotiations between savings banks to draw up the new map of the sector had already taken place, and the frob had committed its first aid in this connection. but some of the key elements to entrench the reforms and restore external confidence in our financial system were still pending. in fact, only a month later, in july 2010, the results of the stress tests of credit institutions, co - ordinated at the european level, were published ; the banco de espana agreed to amend the regime governing accounting provisions ; and the government approved a key reform on the legal regime of savings banks. then, in february 2011, the royal decree - law on the reinforcement of the financial system was enacted, and its rules are currently being applied. this year we can roundly state that the restructuring of savings banks has moved into its final stage. thereafter, we will have a smaller set of institutions ( from 45 original savings banks there are now 18 ) and one that is more efficient and better capitalised, capable, along with the rest of our banking system, of providing the intermediation services our economy