Spain's Bankia explains call for 19bn-euro bailout

The health of Spain's banks are key to whether the country might need an international bailout

The board of debt-ridden Spanish bank Bankia is explaining why the company needs 19bn euros ($24bn; £15bn) of loans from the government.

Bankia chief Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri is using a televised news conference to outline a restructuring plan, following the bank's revelation that it made losses of 2.98bn euros last year.
Trading in shares in Bankia - Spain's fourth-largest bank - were suspended by the Madrid stockmarket on Friday.
Bankia is already part-nationalised.
Europe is watching the banking sector in the region closely amid the economic crisis.
Spanish banks, which lent heavily during the property bubble, are seen as particularly shaky as they now hold massive amounts of soured investments.
Downgraded Correspondents say the bailout of Bankia would be the biggest of its kind in Spanish history.
Late on Friday, Mr Goirigolzarri tried to reassure observers, saying the bailout would reinforce the "solvency, liquidity and solidity of the bank".
His comments came after Bankia restated its results - saying it made a 2.98bn-euro loss for 2011 rather than the 309m euros in profit it announced in February - and asked for the aid from Spain's bank bailout fund, FROB.
On the same day, rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) downgraded the bank, along with four other lenders, to "junk" status.

Bankia history

• Formed in December 2010 from merger of seven troubled banks
• Most toxic assets moved into holding company BFA
• Listed on the Madrid stock exchange in July 2011
• Chairman Rodrigo Rato resigned earlier in the month before Bankia was part-nationalised

Two weeks ago, the government intervened and awarded Bankia a 4.47bn-euro loan.

Bankia had to reassure savers last week that their money was safe after a Spanish newspaper reported a run on the bank.
Bankia was created in 2010 from the merger of seven struggling regional savings banks. It holds 32bn euros in distressed property assets.
Its shares fell 7.4% on Thursday to close at 1.57 euros, down 58% from their listing price in July 2011.
There have been four attempts by Spanish governments to shore up the banking system since the global financial crisis of 2008.
As part of the latest plan, lenders are having to make 30bn euros of extra provisions to cover potential losses on property loans. This is in addition to 54bn euros they were ordered to set aside in February.
The health of Spain's banking system is key to whether the country eventually needs to seek a bailout itself from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Spain's credit rating was downgraded by S&P last month on the basis that it would probably have to take on more debt to support its banks.