Bankia shares down 10pc after results delayed
Shares in recently nationalised Spanish bank Bankia tumbled 10 per cent after it delayed first quarter results, raising fears the government will have to plough more cash into the struggling lender.
Bankia lies at the core of concerns about Spanish banks’ problems after a 2008 property crash.
Some believe Spain or Europe will have to inject funds into the sector to avert a collapse of the financial system, worsening the euro zone debt crisis.
“The problem right now is that nobody really knows what Bankia is worth and how much money the state is finally going to pump into Bankia. The uncertainty is absolute,” a Madrid-based trader said.
Bankia’s parent company, Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA), has not yet presented its own 2011 results while it waits for the auditor, Deloitte, to sign off on its accounts.
Deloitte identified a 3.5 billion euro shortfall in the valuation of BFA’s stake in Bankia, sources close to the bank have said. Deloitte has declined to comment on the matter.
Shares in Bankia, which the government took control of last week, dropped to 1.68 euros, having already fallen about 30 per cent since Chairman Rodrigo Rato resigned on 7 May in anticipation of the government move.