Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has dropped the ball. Last week Bob Diamond, CEO of Barclays, met with Zapatero at Moncloa, but a deal involving a major Spanish regional bank will not result.
The topic of discussion was Bankia, and Diamond considered investing in the company if its IPO does not go well. Run by chairman Rodrigo Rato, Bankia is now finalizing preparations for its IPO. The success of this deal is considered a test of overall economic health in Spain.
Internal sources at Barclays in London assured that currently, the deal is not going to happen. The Spanish subsidiary has also confirmed this to be true.
Barclays did well for itself during the boom years in Spain. And they have participated in restructuring purchases like Zaragozano´s. But now they suffer like the rest of the Spanish financial system and are choking for drinking perhaps too much at once.
Stories of the firm confirm the situation. In the first quarter of 2011, Barclays? business in Spain endured a loss of 230 million euros.
