From a low base

摘要

Turning around Bankia, explains the Spanish bank's boss, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, is like cycling the Tourmalet, one of the most fearsome ascents on the route of the Tour de France. "You look below and wonder at how far you've come," he says, "but looking up you can see just how much is left to do." Bankia has indeed come a long way since 2012, when the government spent €18 billion ($24 billion) rescuing its parent, bfa, including €10.6 billion that was passed to Bankia. At the time Spain was deep in the second trough of a double-dip recession. Its banks were so addled with bad debts, many stemming from a monumental property bust, that the government had to borrow €41 billion from its fellow euro-zone members to recapitalise them.