Spanish property fund unable to repay US$3.3 bln
Spanish bank Santander’s real estate fund is unable to repay more than 2.6 billion euros (US$3.3 billion) to investors and is seeking government help, the financial markets authority said on Monday.
‘The fund currently lacks the necessary liquidity to cope with the repayment of this sum,’ read a document from Santander Real Estate released by Spain’s financial markets authority (CNMV).
Santander has therefore ‘requested authorisation from CNMV to be able to suspend the repayments for a period of two years,’ the document said.
Spain’s once-buoyant economy has now entered a recession, with the key real estate in particular being badly hit by the global economic crisis.
Source : Business Times – 16 Feb 2009
