Spain

A subsidiary of Spanish highway operator Abertis is considering borrowing $424 million to fund capital projects for four Puerto Rico toll roads, Bloomberg News reported. The Public Finance Authority, a Wisconsin-based issuer, approved the bond sale for Puerto Rico Toll Roads LLC, at a June 26th board meeting. PFA would loan the proceeds it borrows to Puerto Rico Toll Roads, which is part of Metropistas, an Abertis subsidiary that operates numerous toll roads and one bridge in Puerto Rico.

CaixaBank SA is exploring the sale of €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) in non-performing loans as it seeks to improve its asset quality, Bloomberg News reported. The Spanish lender is marketing two NPL portfolios that have already attracted potential bidders, according to documents seen by Bloomberg and people familiar with the matter. One is code named Oxygen and it has an outstanding balance of €610 million on about 7,000 unpaid mortgages.

Spanish inflation accelerated for a second month as the government continued to remove support that had helped keep a lid on soaring energy costs, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 3.4% from a year earlier in April, data published Monday showed. That’s in line with the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Stripping out energy and some food costs, core inflation dipped more than anticipated to 2.9% — the lowest level since early 2022. Spanish numbers kick off a raft of data across the euro area, with German inflation later Monday also projected to quicken a touch.

Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino expressed hope an agreement on the reform of EU fiscal rules could be clinched as soon as Thursday evening, while her German counterpart said he thought a deal was possible this week, Reuters reported. EU finance ministers are discussing changes to the rules on Thursday and Friday, aiming to agree on a joint position that would then be negotiated with the European Parliament early in 2024. Spain holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Spanish inflation unexpectedly eased, retreating for the first time since June thanks to drops in the costs of fuel and tourism, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices rose 3.2% from a year earlier in November, data Wednesday showed. That compares with 3.5% the previous month and defied the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists for an acceleration to 3.7%. A gauge of underlying pressures that excludes energy and fresh food fell to 4.5%, easing much more than anticipated.

Spain's stock market supervisor said on Wednesday it had opened its first case relating to a possible infringement of recent rules governing mass advertising campaigns for cryptoassets, Reuters reported. The supervisor also said separately that it was analysing some advertisements carried on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which was taken private by Elon Musk, for potential infringements. X did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Spanish inflation accelerated for a fourth month, hitting the highest level since April and supporting calls to prolong government measures to shield households from the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, Bloomberg News reported. October’s reading of 3.5% was largely due to electricity costs, the national statistics institute said Monday. That compares with 3.3% a month earlier and is less than the 3.8% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. A measure of underlying pressures that excludes energy and fresh-food costs slowed to 5.2%.

The new owners of steel maker Celsa, Spain's largest private industrial group, said on Wednesday they will appoint former Gas Natural Fenosa CEO Rafael Villaseca as chairman of its board of directors, Reuters reported. On Monday, a local court in Barcelona approved a multibillion-euro restructuring plan presented by Celsa's creditors, handing over control of the firm to a group that includes Deutsche Bank, Attestor, Anchorage, GoldenTree and SVP.

Spain's BBVA and Bank of Cyprus reopened the market with the issuance of the first euro-denominated contingent convertible bonds (CoCo) since the rescue of Credit Suisse in March, in what is seen as an attempt to restore confidence in the banks' riskiest debt instruments, Reuters reported. The Spanish bank said it aimed to raise between 750 million euros ($810.08 million) and 1 billion euros with this issuance. According to a lead manager memo seen by Reuters, the issuance had already received orders worth over 3 billion euros.