The savings bank Unnim is studying ways of becoming a bank

Barcelona (ACN) .- The Vice President of the Spanish Government Elena Salgado outlined a new plan this week that would see lenders with capital shortfalls have until the month of September 2011 to look for a private sector solution. In response to this statement, the savings bank Unnim said that the proposal is “not a bad option as it does not interfere with the model of the saving banks”.

The savings bank Unnim would be able to meet the requirement of 8% of capital, if the Bank of Spain approves the second capitalization that Unnim is currently negotiating with the Orderly Bank Restructuring Fund (FROB). It is worth 200 million. A saving bank’s spokesperson said this week that the company has one major doubt, that of "core capital". The minimum “core capital” required will actually be decided by the Spanish Government. It will set a general minimum which could be increased for entities with a higher risk. The “core capital” for saving banks would be higher than 8%. To overcome solvency, Unnim believes that there will be no other choice than to become a bank, with the shareholder control of the banks assets and deposits.

Unnim is currently negotiating a second capitalisation with the Bank of Spain that aims to meet the demands of stress tests that will be carried out in the first semester. So far, the amount requested for this second capitalisation ranges between 150 and 200 million.

To meet the 8% of "core capital", the amount to claim would be 200 million, which would mean meeting this requirement of 8% and passing the examination of resistance of the European financial system. At the end of 2010, the "core capital" of Unnim was at a fixed rate of 6.4%.