Titre :
Spain Goes For Broke In Sweeping Toxic Crap Under The Rug For Second Time In As Many Years.Auteur : Tyler Durden
Date : 21/06/2010
Lien :
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/spain- ... many-yearsCiter:
All those who thought only our brilliant financial alchemists had the ingenious idea of sweeping all the toxic assets plaguing bank balance sheets under the rug of taxpayer bailouts "until things get better," are in for a surprise. It appears that recently insolvent Spain is not only as big an offender in this regard, but has been ahead of the curve for a several years. In an attempt to pretend all was good, Spain's banks, which are now locked out of financial markets for good reason, onboarded worthless mortgages as long ago as two years back. This was done with the hope that sooner or later (but definitely in under two years) prices would pick up and these homes could be sold for at least one dollar of equity. Alas, something happened on the road to financial nirvana: the Keynesian model collapsed, and the properties are now worth less than they ever have been, are generating the same amount of cash as they did two years ago (none), and now, finally, banks are forced to start accounting for these loans in a manner at least marginally close to reality. The result: a scramble to reflate the housing bubble like never before, in the hope to get at least a few mortgage payments out of the newest batch of greater fool. As the WSJ reports: "Banks are piling on incentives. Midsize Banco Espanol de Credito SA offers deferred deposit payments and 100% financing "for many of our houses," according to its website. Larger lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and smaller Banco Pastor SA offer generous financing and lower teaser rates, as well." In other words, all the ingredients that were present in the creation of the first housing bubble are here once again. And just to be safe, Spain has decided to multiply the dosage by a factor of ten. When this little scheme implodes, which it will, the consequences for the economy will be comparably be about 10 times as bad.
la suite...
Citer:
Some analysts, however, suspect the strategy is simply kicking today's housing problems into the future. "They're making a bet," said Alfonso de Gregorio, director of wealth and fund management at Gesconsult, a Spanish fund manager. "Wait for the economic crisis to resolve itself, push forward the problems by three or four years, and try not to let it show too much on the bottom line."
Others worry that the generous financing, which helps maintain the prices, is muddying the long-term picture for a sour Spanish housing market. Unemployment in Spain is currently 20% and is likely to rise with the austerity measures recently announced by the government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. A recent Standard & Poor's report said that housing prices, which have fallen 16% from their peak in 2008, could fall another 12%.
And let's not forget those very Cajas, that would not exist if it were not for the government's most recent effort to bail out Spain's depository institutions:
"Need a home? Now is the moment!" says Caja Madrid on it website, where it also advertises financing options and special offers, such as an apartment in the small city of Manresa, near Barcelona, for €247,000.
"Escape your old home!" says the site of Valencia-based savings bank Bancaja, which advertises no payments for as long as three years at the start of the mortgage.
Such programs are having some impact. Santander sold 2,045 of the 2,745 homes it has placed on sale through its Altamira subsidiary since January, 2009, said a spokesman. Caja Madrid said it sold 10 times the amount of properties in the first five months of 2010 compared with a year earlier.
Just as US attempts to reflate the housing market have failed, and as Meredith Whitney said earlier, a double-dip in housing is now a certainty, imagine how ugly things will get in Spain, which not only does not have a reserve currency at its disposal, but has no real currency, due to the ubiquitous presence of the euro. At this rate of deterioration, one won't have long to wait. In the meantime, expected many more bailouts of Spain and its banks by everyone and anyone who has even a marginal dollar of liquidity, in the hope of delaying where the lack of cashflow finally encounters the most underwater debt tranche.
à jouer avec les allumettes et la poudre vous savez ce qui peut arriver, ça vous pête à la gueule... Monsieur Nobel il l'avait dit, on ne donne pas de la T.N.T. à un mec qui a la tremblote...