Banks to control costs

12/10/2013 00:00

Spanish banks will have to move quickly to control costs to cope with rising bad loans, European Central Bank council member Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said yesterday. The pronounced rise in bad loans and shrinking business provide challenges which have to be met quickly, Ordonez, who is also governor of the Bank of Spain, said at a conference.

The rise in bad debts following the end of Spain's property boom was expected and has not yet hit alarming levels, he added. Shrinking business will inevitably oblige banks to develop greater cost controls and rationalisation, Ordonez said.