The fall of BFA/Bankia bank in Spain
Así fue la caída del coloso
La concatenación de errores en la gestión y la crisis financiera culminaron en la nacionalización de Bankia
Cronología del fiasco financiero
Íñigo de Barrón Madrid 13 MAY 2012 - 00:30 CET
That was the fall of the Colossus
The concatenation of errors in management and the financial crisis led to the nationalization of Bankia
Chronology of the financial fiasco
Barron Íñigo Madrid 13 MAY 2012 - 00:30 CET
In late January, Rodrigo Rato, then chairman of Bankia, definitely broke a possible merger agreement with La Caixa, directed by Isidro Faine. The operation had the support of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (who saw their political gains with CiU) and the Minister of Economy, Luis de Guindos, which took away the biggest headache.
Rato saw no clear position on the merger control despite alleged alternations in power because it was not clear control of the assembly of the Catalan, financially stronger. It was the first meeting of Rato with "their" government and the beginning of fall. Shortly thereafter, President of Bankia the Ministry of Economy presented a proposed merger with the Asturian Liberbank, which was rejected, and another later in the Andalusian Unicaja, who suffered the same fate. The Government understood that the operation with La Caixa had more benefits (share the heavy brick digestion, creating a large banking group and save the lack of capital Bankia) which cost (close 2,000 offices and lay off 10,000 people to end the surplus of the two entities. Caixa also has a pending reorganization).
Rodrigo Rato with Jose Ignacio Gorigolzarri. / BALLESTEROS (EFE)
Three months after this break, Rajoy has forced exit from the presidency Rato Bankia and its parent company, Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA) to clean up the entity with 4.465 million of public money and try to regain the credibility gap financial system. Disorder in the output of Rato, who has followed a script unprecedented in its disorganization and lack the Bank of Spain, has raised concern that has plunged 15.6% the price of Bankia.
The former financial vice-president in the government of Aznar and managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ended abruptly two years and four months in office in Bankia, which became the third largest in Spain and is now owned by the state for its insolvency.
No one questions that when the box arrived Rato had serious problems
Rato problems started since coming to Caja Madrid, in January 2010. The company was in a difficult financial situation and reputation affected by the political struggles of PP. In 2009 he starred in one of the most embarrassing performances stark political interference in the savings banks, by the Government of Madrid Esperanza Aguirre. The PP leader Madrid fought openly for removing the president, Miguel Blesa, to put his number two, Ignacio Gonzalez. In the heat of battle, Aguirre went on to say that of "we have given a rank and United Left would have removed the motherfucker," referring to the mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, who supported Rato. In the end, Rato took the win and was presented to society as the depoliticization of Caja Madrid, although both have a long militancy in the PP.
Political tensions deepened the problems he already had the box: sharp drop in net interest income, high debt in international markets, significant volume of mortgage business and high finance immigrants and construction and development companies. Later, these credits brought many losses. Caja Madrid had lived for years with the huge lifeline profit from the investment in Telefónica and then with the sale of Endesa Enel's IPO. He also enjoyed profitable operations with Mapfre and dividends from its industrial holdings.
Bankia went public to avoid government control of the PSOE
Moreover, the financial markets business was booming. "In those years, the financial and treasury operations gave more benefits office network. At the time of Blesa to branches were asked turnover. For 10 years he was fine, but when the crisis came this strategy meant delinquencies, "says a senior executive who requested anonymity house.
The benefits of Caja Madrid in 2009 dropped 68% to 266 million, 500 million by forcing him to provision the Bank of Spain. The procedure Blesa spoiled the farewell. But not only the income had red lights on. There were other warning signs: in May 2009, Moody's downgraded the rating of an issue of 3,000 million (now so famous) to B2 preferred shares. He put it in junk bond "with the high probability that the company can not pay the interest."
Moody's placed in the preferred junk Caja Madrid in 2009
"I would have liked to continue," he said in his farewell Blesa after 13 years in office. Blesa, lawyer and personal friend of José María Aznar, came to the entity with no previous experience with financial institutions and political controversy. In 1996, with the PP in government and Rodrigo Rato as economy minister, Jaime Terceiro (Pontevedra, 1946), was ousted from the presidency of the organization, which had come boosted by the Socialists. Under the mandate of Terceiro -1988 to 1996 - Madrid entity modernized and increased its solvency and profitability. Then won more money than La Caixa, the eternal rival, which invested in its giant industrial group. However, Caja Madrid suffered the economic crisis of 1993 and 1994 and recorded a 7% high delinquencies. With the tailwind of economic recovery, Blesa undertook the healthy growth of the case until the last years of his term, in which the sharp increase of the bubble size and ratios sank.
This is the inheritance received Rato, leaving another greatly complicated his successor. The advantage is that for the first time since the eighties, the president of the organization in Madrid, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri (Bilbao, 1957), is not related to the ruling party and has 30 years of professional experience. "The novelty is that you have not had a favor to be named, but the opposite. That will give independence to Goirigolzarri "says an executive.
Although not an expert, Rato take long to name CEO
No one questions that Rato came when the ship was in a storm and holes. The worst, the lack of income, provision for the needs of the small brick and equity securities. Were you aware of the situation they faced? Did he act quickly? It was not easy to find experts who could comment on the work of Rato who had not worked for Bankia or than his competitors. Thomas Eguren, a finance professor at Pompeu Fabra and EADA Business School, believes that it was difficult to know what happened in 2010 "because there were reports of the IMF and the ECB hinted that allowed" the housing bubble that was Spain. Rato, who came from the investment bank Lazard and the IMF, was considered an executive with a high level of national and international information.
The facts show that Rato was aware of the fall of the Spanish economy and housing problems. The first exercise in front of Caja Madrid, Rato 4,000 million writedowns charged against capital, to prevent losses reflected in the income statement, with silence and permission of the Bank of Spain. It was necessary, but lead started flying on the wings and there, by a lack of capital, has died Bankia. At the same time, the former vice president of government pacified the advice of the box, thanks to his personal and political, pleasing to all. 18-fold Blesa's salary Rato Terceiro and climbed the more than one million of Blesa. In turn, fired executive salaries and allowances of the council doubled.
The merger with the group Bancaja definitely sunk by brick
But Rato did what would have been key: quickly appoint an expert as CEO, a firefighter able to extinguish the fire in the building considering that he was not a financial specialist. Sources say that the entity spoke Goirigolzarri, but failed to convince him to go number two. Others say that wage restraint stopped some candidates. It took a year and a half in Francisco Verdú put in charge of the organization. And he did a month before the IPO, when the whole project (and all the problems) was already cooked. Verdú was executive vice no Banca March, an entity twenty times smaller than Bankia.
Besides not having an expert advisor, Rato formed what was known internally as the Sanhedrin of power. It was formed by Jose Manuel Fernandez Norniella, president of the Chamber of Commerce and considerate, that by it, "the most faithful squire Rato" Luis Maldonado, who was at the Ministry of Economy and the IMF with the president of Bankia and Miguel Crespo, secretary of the board from ING Direct and excolaborador de Rato in ministry. This center of power, where no one of the original entities or financial expert, raised suspicions in the organization.
The salaries of executives and directors rose sharply since 2010
Rato also relied heavily on the board, as shown in its output. Virtually all members heard on the radio of his resignation (submitted to the Prime Minister, not the Bank of Spain) and initially refused to hold an extraordinary meeting, as he was asked. Then, the problems with the 10 million customers accelerated turnover. Nor ever explained to the board that the Deloitte audit would put two qualifications in audit that made it impossible to meet a new plan of reorganization, which became the fuse that precipitated its end.
But it certainly was the merger of Bancaja Rato final error and Bankia. Within six months of arriving, announced today that the Valencian entity and five more small boxes. Rato was proud to fly the "third largest financial group in Spain", which had surpassed La Caixa. Caja Madrid, with their real estate problems joined Bancaja "that was worse than the CAM", according to some analysts, full credit to the brick and foreclosed assets and provisioned. Internal sources of Bankia say 65% of the group's delinquency comes from Valencia.
Why did this movement Rato wrong? In the environment of the former are two arguments: the first forced the supervisor José Luis Olivas, president of Bancaja and himself to carry out the operation "because I needed the system, then all you wanted was large entities." The second, that the reports of the Bank of Spain did not determine the severity of the situation of Bancaja. These sources say that when this problem Rato conveyed the governor, Miguel Fernández Ordóñez, he was told that he could have deepened with other analyzes. The truth is that the reports of the Bancaja and Banco de Valencia did Deloitte, auditor of both entities and Caja Madrid. "It is wrong that the merger valuations make them your own auditor because it is an interested party, but he accepted Rato. Then he complained and has commissioned a report from KPMG, "says an executive. "Never should have been merged. Two bad banks never leaves a good one, "says Luis Garicano of the London School of Economics and Liberbank counselor.
Now everyone criticizes the merger, but then there were few dissenting voices. "The government talked about green shoots; seemed GDP could trace and the supervisor wanted to win time and thought to the recovery of other banking could help clean up the brick," says an adviser. "Analyses were purely political," says one expert, "so he did. The PP wanted a large bank and Rato never stopped being a political animal during his tenure, as evidenced by their continued presence in the party acts while president of Bankia. This operation towered to as alternative power against Rajoy ". Jordi Palafox, professor at the University of Valencia, believes that "since his appointment until his resignation, he has done everything Rato has been dominated by the political times." Juan Ignacio Crespo, analyst and author of the book The next two recessions, does not shirk responsibility while, but then remember that the autonomous regions "were an absolute power and no one wanted to talk about need for provisions in banking."
Meanwhile, the problems grew in Bankia. In March 2011 asked to 4.465 million bailout fund (FROB) and started cutting costs and staff offices. Then there is the possible bankruptcy of Banco de Valencia, who covers for the success of the IPO of Bankia. It is considered the third major error Rato. Around it said was an operation bound by financial reform socialist, requiring less capital to unlisted. However, in the book Rodrigo Rato, the great architect, written by journalist of Reason, Carmen Gurruchaga and based on "candid" talks between the two, there is another theory. Rato was convinced that Zapatero would be hurt by the PP "and gathers its steering committee and informs him that he will not wait for government requirements and has chosen to be independent going public, although it was scheduled to later. Rato is the play because the entity was still in merger process, "he says in the book.
They gambled and lost. The opening stock of Bankia was forced and economically ruinous. Antoni Serra Ramoneda, president of Caixa Catalunya and author of boxes errors, says: "The government pressured economic heavyweights into buying securities Bankia to avoid a failure for the external image of Spain. And they did. "
After the IPO came the intervention of its former subsidiary, Banco de Valencia, and the resulting confrontation with its president, Olivas. In Gurruchaga book said that there were no known problems Banco de Valencia until a month before his speech. However, press reports have appeared on the problems of capital and was an open secret. The Bank of Spain allowed him unheard: break a bank subsidiary and the parent did not pass the bailout and Guarantee Fund.
He started 2012 with trouble Rato, the refusal to merge with La Caixa, which overwhelmed the new provisions, the crisis and finally forced his resignation and nationalization. In his farewell to the council, Rato noted the strong spending cuts made over 550 million, it is undisputed as one of his greatest achievements. But it was not enough. The ship had too many holes and the owner wanted another pattern. Who puts, removes. It has always been in the boxes to their loss. Besides, no one can run a bank against the Government. "All financial leaders who have carried the boxes to the situation in which they are to assume their responsibilities," Rato said after driving Bankia Olivas. Now some of you remember this phrase now.
Chronology of the financial fiasco
■ September 11, 1996. Miguel Blesa is elected president of Caja Madrid instead of Jaime Terceiro.
■ October 25, 1999. Blesa is re-elected as head of the institution.
■ September 30, 2003. Second Blesa reelection. The safe bet for the credit and investment promoter Bag grow.
■ March 6, 2006. Caja Madrid reaches 10% of Endesa.
■ December 3, 2007. The cash purchase BBVA and Logista packages in Iberia and reaches 22.9% of the capital.
■ January 22, 2008. Caja Madrid has the highest profits in its history. In 2007 he won 2.861 million from the sale of your package in Endesa.
■ December 22, 2008. Esperanza Aguirre started the battle for control of Caja Madrid. The Madrid Assembly approves new Banks Act.
■ July 20, 2009. Caja Madrid adopted a new constitution. Vice President's name comes from the Community of Madrid, Ignacio Gonzalez, as a candidate to replace Blesa.
■ November 2, 2009. Aguirre, pressured by Mariano Rajoy, relents and agrees to Rodrigo Rato as president.
■ January 29, 2010. The assembly elects box Rato as president.
■ June 11, 2010. Caja Madrid and Bancaja announce merger with five other small entities. It is the Finance and Savings Bank (BFA).
■ March 2011. Bankia is launched as a trademark. BFA uses a FROB loan of 4,465 million.
■ July 20, 2011. Bankia goes public valued at 3.75 euros per share.
■ February 2012. Financial reform requires strong writedowns. Rato said that alone can make them.
■ April 2012. The IMF wants Bankia to improve balance and management.
■ May 7, 2012. Rato resigns and Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri proposed as successor.
■ May 9, 2012. BFA, majority shareholder of Bankia, is nationalized.
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