国际英语新闻：Bank of Spain speeds up mergers of savings banks

MADRID, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Spain has lost patience and accelerated the restructuring of the country's savings banks, known as the "cajas," with tougher conditions on the provisions for defaulting and the acquisition of real estate assets.

The seizure of Cajasur last Saturday has triggered a sequence of mergers among different regional cajas.

An important shift is introduced in the functions previously assigned to savings banks, following the demands of international markets and the concerns aroused by their great exposure during the property boom.

FROB AID SCHEME

Last week's bailout of Cajasur, which could cost up to 2.7 billion euros, raised questions among foreign investors over the state of the Spanish financial sector. The seizure of Cajasur, which refused to merge with Unicaja, was a clear warning to other cajas to carry out their restructuring process and to request public aid from FROB, the Bank of Spain scheme designed to assist in the stabilization process of Spain's financial sector, which expires on June 30.

The IMF, the OECD and the European Commission have joined the Bank of Spain in pressing for a reform. The FROB was created almost a year ago and has hardly been operative in that time.