Spain Real Time Data Charts

Edward Hugh is only able to update this blog from time to time, but he does run a lively Twitter account with plenty of Spain related comment. He also maintains a collection of constantly updated Spain charts with short updates on a Storify dedicated page Spain's Economic Recovery - Glass Half Full or Glass Half Empty?

Monday, December 15, 2008

Going For A Song

Well, this is a bit outside the range of my usual posts, but the following just showed up inside my gmail Google Ads. They are offering properties at 50% of bank valuations, and with even bigger discounts for "bulk purchases".


Spanish Repossession Property – Direct From the Bank:

As a lot of you will know, we have dabbled in the Spanish market for a few years now. Dealing mainly with sellers who need to sell quickly and we have had a few good deals going through. But as I’m sure you are aware, in Spain the “Real Deals” are from the Banks who have repossessed property and are looking to just recover their loan amount and move on! This area has always been closed off to us with the sales going to “The Old Spanish School Tie Brigade” even after many attempts over the last couple of years to “get on the inside”.

The good news is that we now have a direct contact with a large Bank in Spain, through a Spanish firm of lawyers who have been instructed to dispose of the banks repossessions on an exclusive basis. They also deal with the whole buying process,tax and legal issues plus mortgages (They have negotiated up to 80% mortgage subject to certain bank requirements and individual situations).

The bank deals with properties in the Murcia, Alicante, Almeria areas only. Discounts vary from property to property but some can be purchased for around Half The Bank Valuation Figure and there are further discounts for bulk purchases. Another plus is that they are already holding bank valuation figures for every property. All properties are owned outright by the bank.

If you would be in a Serious Position To Take Advantage Of This,bla, bla, bla......



Ireland To Invest From Pensions Reserve Fund For Bank Recapitalisation


Now here's an interesting precedent to watch out for in the future, the Irish government has announced today that it is planning an investment of "up to €10bn" in the country’s banks, in partnership with private investors. The planned recapitalisation, announced in a statement by the finance ministry late on yesterday, is aimed at strengthening the balance sheets of the banks and restoring investor confidence in bank shares, which have fallen sharply in the last week. The government has indicated that it plans to use money from the National Pension Reserve Fund, a sovereign wealth fund with assets under management of €18bn which was established to part fund the future public service pensions. According to the statement investment is going to be on a "case by case basis… having regard to the systemic importance of the institution". The government also said it believed that in current market conditions, even fundamentally sound banks may require additional capital "to respond to widespread market perception that higher capital ratios are appropriate for the sector internationally". While no one really doubts the well-intentioned aspect of this move, given that the market mechanism itself is having difficulty at this point deciding what are and what aren't fundamentally sound banks, are funds intended to guarantee people's pensions in the future really the best source of funding for what has to be an inherently risky venture?

4 comments:

Charles Butler said...

Straight from the Argentina playbook.

Anonymous said...

just saw this one
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=081221154025.lrwl34xi&show_article=1
Ordonez seems to be aware of the precarious situation (in Spain)

geert

Edward Hugh said...

Hello Geert,

Thanks for this. I will post something on it later today.

Yes, I think Ordoñez is more realistic than most other official spokesmen in Spain at the moment, and he is clearly worried, although do note he is still having to speak through the official "code" language of the global crisis. No one seems able to publicly admit that Spain's problems are much worse than most.

The Economist Intelligence Unit had a reasonable piece recently. They also draw attention to the split between Zapatero and Sebastain on the one hand and Solbes and Ordoñez on the other. Solbes has already indicated he wants to go, but obviously Ordoñez is staying to battle it out.

One consequence of the recent policy measures is the emergence of two discernable factions among the country's leading policymakers. On the one hand, Mr Zapatero favours a strongly expansive fiscal response and hands-on public-sector engagement in the real economy—an approach that is backed by the increasingly influential minister of industry, commerce and tourism, Miguel Sebastián.In the opposite corner the minister of the economy, Mr Solbes, and the governor of the Bank of Spain (the central bank), Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, are both displaying visible concern about the consequences of unbridled fiscal expansion and the public appropriation of private risk. Mr Solbes recently spoke of the dangers of an excessive deficit, while Mr Ordóñez has warned the government that it runs the risk of leaving itself with no room for manoeuvre if the economy continues to deteriorate for a protracted period.

Tricky times ahead, but have a good xmas all the same.

Edward

Anonymous said...

Hello Edward,

Merry Christmas and Happy new year.
24/12/2008
MDM