Bankia shares suspended

Shares in Spanish lender Bankia SA were suspended on Friday.

According to the Globe and Mail, the shares on the Madrid stock exchange were suspended because the bank is expected to ask the government for a rescue bailout.

The bailout asked is alleged to be more than nineteen billion dollars U.S. Bankia was unable to cover heavy losses suffered during a building boom crash in two-thousand-seven – two-thousand eight. The government is in the process of nationalizing Bankia.

Other banks exposed to this property bust are seen as a major risk for Spain and the entire euro currency group. The fear raises concern that the government will have to ask for international aid to prop up its lenders.

Flickr Photo by: Javier Corbo