Three Spanish savings banks have called off a merger plan to create the country’s third biggest caja, Bloomberg reports. Cajastur, Caja de Extremadura and Caja Cantabria have decided against combining their businesses with Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo in a new entity, called Banco Base.
The move comes after Banco Base asked for an additional €2.78 billion from the state bailout fund, almost double the amount the Bank of Spain said the lender would need to meet minimum capital requirements. The Spanish central bank has asked all the savings banks to provide details about their plans following the collapse of the merger.
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