Spain Denies Seeking Bank Bailout

 LONDON - Spain's economy minister has been forced to deny reports his government is seeking international help to prop¹ up its banks, as fears grow that many lenders are facing huge losses on loans.  Several banks in Europe's strongest economy, Germany, have also been drawn² into the crisis.

Spain’s southern shoreline, the Costa del Sol, has long been a favorite on Europe's tourism map.  But alongside the beach bars and nightclubs are row after row of half-built, abandoned apartment blocks.

This is the center of a building boom that burst spectacularly with the global financial crisis.  Across Spain, banks gave billions of dollars to property developers trying to cash in.  They are left with huge debts.

The government is already nationalizing the ailing³ lender, Bankia, at an estimated cost of more than $25 billion.

Tobias Blattner is chief of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets:

“Bankia is really just the tip of the iceberg⁴, after all, because we know that they still have huge, massively bad loans on their balance sheets," said Blattner. "So I think they are in a very critical stage.  I think what we have seen is the approach that the Spanish government has taken so far was, in a way, not enough to convince the investors⁵ that Spanish banks are safe.”

Spain’s economy minister, Luis de Guindos, denied reports his country is seeking international support for its banks.

He stressed to reporters there was not a single question about an eventual⁶ rescue.

Spain wants to avoid following the path of countries like Greece and Portugal in tapping the European Union bailout mechanism⁷, says Fidel Peter Helmer, a trader with Hauck and Aufhaeuser Private Bank.

Helmer says it would mean that Spain's sovereign rating would be further downgraded.  He says they want to avoid that because above all, the dilapidated banks are to blame for the misery⁸.

The European Central Bank injected $660 billion worth of liquidity⁹ into the continent’s banking¹⁰ system in February.  That medicine appears to be wearing off.  Wednesday, six German banks had their credit rating downgraded by Moody’s because of fears of their exposure to bad debt.

Meanwhile, the European Commission is unveiling plans to avoid taxpayer-funded bailouts in the future.

Michel Barnier is commissioner¹¹ for internal markets:

Barnier says in the banking sector¹², the commission wants more surveillance, more prevention and more caution.  He says it does not want taxpayers¹³ to pay any longer.

Those proposals would not come into law until 2014 at the earliest, and analysts¹⁴ say they do little to put out the fires raging in Europe’s banking system.

1 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

4 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

7 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

8 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

9 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

10 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

11 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。