The Bank of Spain's last attempt to raise capital is bearing fruit. According to data published by AIAF, lenders raised 26.6 billion euros in treasuries from clients through their network of branches between September and November of last year.
This amount is 36.5% more than banks expected to raise through plans put in place in order to attract funds necessary to meet financing requirements. Through 2012 the sector will have to meet debt obligations of 120 million euros, and the major credit markets are closed.
After the summer, the lenders launched a debt war in the face of investor skepticism caused by the European debt crisis and the less-than-favorable returns on traditional high-yield deposits. Until that point these bond were generally directed at institutional clients.
When Santander started offering these products to small shareholders at low a low price point and with yields of more than 3.5%, that started a battle similar to the deposit war that happened several months prior.