Spain's bank job accelerates towards bank run

According to a Telegraph article, almost 100 billion euros was pulled from the Spanish banking system in the first three months of the year.  Of that amount, over 65 billion euros was pulled out in March alone.

Given the credibility destroying response of the government to Bankia, there is no reason to believe that the pace of deposits leaving the Spanish banking system is not continuing to accelerate.

I know I have said this before and I will say it again, but it is still not too late to adopt the Swedish model with ultra transparency and restore confidence in the banking system.

Almost €100bn (£80.2bn) of cash was pulled out of Spain in the first three months of the year by private and corporate investors fleeing the advancing financial and political crisis. 

The Bank of Spain said €66.2bn was withdrawn in March alone – the fastest rate since records began in 1990 – taking the total to €97bn for the first quarter. 

Experts warned that the chaotic state-rescue of Bankia is likely to have speeded up the capital flight, compounding the already critical instability of the banks. 

Foreign investors have also rapidly withdrawn their support for Spanish government funding. According to figures from Barclays Capital, foreigners accounted for just 30pc of the holders of Spanish sovereign debt in March, down from 40pc at the same time last year.