For sale

Spanish banks have been trying to minimise their property pain. Some have restructured loans to developers, in the hope that they will eventually be able to pay up. Others have bought properties – before the loans on them go sour. Spain’s listed banks have spent more than E8bn making debt-to-asset swaps for property, according to Credit Suisse estimates. Santander has been a particularly aggressive buyer, while BBVA has been more cautions. An aggressive strategy can work brilliantly – if the fl...