Today the Guardian report that Metrovacesa. Spain’s largest property company will be in the control of its creditor banks including Santander after massive losses totalling €738m. The report also highlights the fact that the purchase of HSBC‘s tower in Canary Wharf – could well have helped the downfall of Metrovacesa.
Six Spanish banks have taken control of troubled Metrovacesa SA, swapping debt for company shares
The Madrid-based Metrovacesa bought the 100,000 sq metre tower in Canary Wharf for £1.09bn in May 2007, financed with a £810m loan that it could not pay off or refinance as credit markets tightened. In another blow to Canary Wharf late last month saw Morgan Stanley quit its lease of six floors of office space 10 years earlier than planned.
In related Spanish banking news BBVA’s Francisco Gonzalez said in a speech in Madrid. “Although there have not been any solvency problems in the Spanish banking system so far, the duration and depth of the crisis will determine whether difficulties emerge finally in some institutions,”
