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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (125685)	10/29/2012 5:57:37 PM
From: Sr K	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

EUROPE MARKETS \| October 29, 2012, 4:59 p.m. ET Spain's Bad Bank to Buy Up Assets Repository to Acquire Distressed Holdings at Steep Discount By DAVID ROMÁN MADRID—Spain's so-called bad bank will buy billions of euros worth of distressed loans and foreclosed property from commercial lenders for around half the book value, a discount that could weigh on the finances of its weakest banks as the government decides whether to seek assistance from the euro zone's bailout fund. New details of the government-run asset-management firm's plans were released Monday as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insisted again that Spain, the frailest of Europe's large economies, doesn't need a new bailout at the moment. Spain agreed in June to receive up to €100 billion ($129 billion) in European aid for its troubled banks. The bad bank, known by its Spanish-language acronym SAREB, was set up as a condition of that bailout; all banks that receive European aid will be obligated to transfer assets to the bad bank. SAREB, which is set to begin operations on Dec. 1, will absorb soured investments that have dragged down the balance sheets of Spanish banks since the collapse of the country's housing market four years ago. Fernando Restoy, head of Spain's bank-bailout fund, said SAREB will likely purchase about €60 billion of toxic assets using Spanish resources and some of the funds allocated under the bank-bailout agreement. It will apply an average 63% discount on land and housing units and an average 46% discount on real estate loans, he said, and will aim to sell the assets to investors over the next 15 years, with a return on investment of at least 14% for any investors in the bad bank. . online.wsj.com