Op-ed: Banks peeved at Guindos

A good part of the financial sector is upset with Spain's Minister of the Economy, Luis de Guindos, because he only consulted four major banks about his financial reform proposal before submitting it to the Spanish cabinet.

Even though Guindos can make decisions over and above any bank's individual interest, it seems unjustified that he did not want to listen to important banks such as Popular or Sabadell. Both banks are current systemic risks according to European Banking Authority (EBA) criteria, Further, they are fundamental pieces to the merger puzzle.

The same could be said about all the savings banks, which are the most affected by the financial crisis. Could it be that the Minister thought he could get away with favoring some banks over others?