Latest Spain Headlines

All the headlines from our Spain Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Sources: Spain’s Bankinter, Apollo Global Team up to Bid for Generali’s BSI Bank

Mar 5 2013 // Spain’s Bankinter has joined forces with U.S. investment fund Apollo Global Management to bid for Italian insurer Generali’s Swiss private bank BSI in a deal worth up to €2 billion ($2.6 billion), three...

Zurich’s European Survey Confirms Insurance Isn’t a Luxury in Economic Crisis

Jan 15 2013 // A survey conducted by GfK on behalf of Zurich Insurance Group analyzed how the people in seven different European countries are dealing with their insurance needs in the light of the ongoing economic crisis. Insurance...

Ratings Recap: Echelon, Nationale Suisse, MAPFRE Global Risks/Empresas

Dec 21 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘B++’ (Good) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb+” of Echelon General Insurance Company, as well as the ICR of “bb+” of...

Euler Hermes and MAPFRE Form ‘Solunion’; a New Credit Insurance Venture

Nov 30 2012 // Euler Hermes and MAPFRE jointly announced the launch of “Solunion”- the brand name of their new credit insurance joint venture in Spain and four Latin American countries. Each partner owns 50 percent of the...

Mapfre Concludes $1.284 Billion Senior Debt Issuance

Nov 7 2012 // Spain’s Mapfre said it concluded a €1 billion [$1.284 billion] debt issuance of senior notes with a fixed coupon of 5.125 percent, issued at par, which the company said, was 3.7 times oversubscribed, despite a...

Which Insurance Products Do Europeans Rate Tops? Zurich Survey Answers

Nov 7 2012 // Pressure at work and school, the financial crisis and concerns about their families are keeping Europeans awake at night, according to a survey conducted by Zurich Insurance Group in eight European countries.Getting sick...

U.S. ‘Fiscal Cliff,’ Europe’s Debt Woes Worry G20

Nov 5 2012 // Leading world economies pressed the United States on Sunday to act decisively to avert a rush of spending cuts and tax hikes, warning that the so-called fiscal cliff is the biggest short-term threat to global growth.Unless...

Trial Underway for 4 Accused of Sinking Oil Tanker, Polluting Spain Coast

Oct 19 2012 // Four people went on trial this week for their role in the sinking of an oil tanker in Spain’s northwestern coast in 2002, triggering one of Europe’s biggest environmental catastrophes.The defendants include the...

RBS Deal with Spain’s Santander Collapses; New Bidders Emerge

Oct 14 2012 // Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland are set to open lower on Monday following the shock decision by Spain’s Santander to pull out of a deal to buy 316 branches from the part-nationalised British bank.The collapse of the...

Best’s Report on Spanish Non-Life Sector Finds Profits, Future Challenges

Oct 10 2012 // “The Spanish non-life insurance sector remained profitable in 2011, but growth remains challenging, as it continues to face one of the bleakest economic environments since the 1930s,” according to a new report...

Ratings Recap: Nacional Re, Barents Re, PMG, MS Frontier Re

Oct 4 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Spain’s Nacional de Reaseguros, S.A., both with...

Tornado Hits Fair in Spain; Flood Deaths Reach 10

Oct 1 2012 // A tornado swept through a fairground in a Spanish town, knocking down a Ferris wheel and injuring 35 people, while the death toll from flooding in the same southern region of the country rose to 10, authorities said...

Catalonia Shows Euro’s Weak Links: Commentary by James Saft

Sep 27 2012 // Just when Spain, and the euro zone, needed it least, along comes the Catalan secession drama to remind us exactly how many parties, peoples and factions have the potential to undermine the single currency’s...

W. R. Berkley Names Jiménez to Top Spanish Post as Esteban Steps Down

Sep 25 2012 // W. R. Berkley Corporation announced that Alejandro Jiménez has been promoted to presidente ejectutivo of W. R. Berkley Insurance (Europe), Limited Sucursal en España , reporting directly to Stuart Wright, CEO of W. R....

Europe Drawn Back to its First Problem – Greece

Aug 27 2012 // The euro zone debt crisis was born in Greece. Nearly three years and two bailouts on Europe must decide whether to give the country yet more help or cut it loose.For all its complexities, Greece’s problems...

Wildfires Threaten to Burn Precious Natural Parks in Spain

Aug 13 2012 // Fierce wildfires forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and were threatening some of Spain’s most precious natural parks, including one that is a UNESCO world heritage site, officials said Sunday.Fires on...

Recession, Libor, Facebook Punish Europe’s Banks

Aug 1 2012 // Leading European banks reported dismal profits on Tuesday, blaming everything from the continent’s debt crisis and Spain’s property market crash to Facebook’s disastrous stock market debut.Within a space...

ECB Head Sends Strong Signal Bank Will Act to Protect Euro Zone

Jul 26 2012 // European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged on Thursday to do whatever was necessary to protect the euro zone from collapse, sending a strong signal that inflated Spanish and Italian borrowing costs were in his...

Euro Zone May Be Fragmenting Faster than EU Can Act

Jul 10 2012 // Signs are growing that Europe’s economic and monetary union may be fragmenting faster than policymakers can repair it.Euro zone leaders agreed in principle on June 29 to establish a joint banking supervisor for the...

Ratings Roundup: Delvag, Ocaso

Jul 2 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has upgraded the financial strength rating to ‘A'(Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings to “a” from “a-” of...