Spain was last night scrambling to nationalise part of Bankia, its third-largest bank by assets, amid worries over the country’s financial system that sent its equity and bond markets falling yesterday.
José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, Bankia’s new chairman, was meeting the board of its parent company – which controls 45 per cent of the bank – last night to propose that the government take a large stake in the troubled lender, people familiar with the situation said.
Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, assured Bankia’s deposit holders yesterday that the government would stand behind the bank: “The government guarantees the stability of the overall banking system.”