NOT AN APRIL FOOL'S PRANK:

Spain may have to intervene in more small and medium-sized banks if the global crisis drags on and the country must prepare better for any further bailouts, Bank of Spain Governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said.

On Sunday, Spain launched its first bank rescue of the global financial crisis to prevent solvency problems at savings bank Caja Castilla la Mancha (CCM).

‘Although large institutions may be able to get through the crisis without help, it’s clear – as the case of CCM shows – that if the international crisis drags on, it could certainly be necessary to restructure some small and medium-sized institutions,’ Ordonez said yesterday in a speech to the Cinco Dias financial forum.