Bankia to close 1,100 branches in Spain in restructuring

The fourth largest bank in Spain, BFA/Bankia, will close about 1,100 branches as a part of its restructuring plan, the bank said Wednesday. The restructuring is required by the European Union (EU) in order for Spanish banks to get the 37 billion euros (about 48 billion U.S. dollars) in an aid package. Bankia will also transfer 57.2 billion euros to the "bad bank" created to hold toxic assets caused by the collapse of the Spanish property market and lay off 6,000 workers. The number of employees at Bankia will fall from 20,589 workers to around 14,500, while there will be around 2,000 branches as opposed to 3,117 now. Bankia President Ignacio Goirigolzarri said these changes were necessary in order to guarantee its viability. "Dismissals will be less than 6,000," the president told a press conference. Some of the job losses will be through voluntary redundancy or early retirement. Of the total 37 billion euros of financial assistance provided by the EU, Bankia will receive 18 billion euros. Besides Bankia, Catalunya Banc will receive 9 billion euros, NCG Banco 5.5 billion euros and Banco de Valencia 4.5 billion euros. Combined with previous aid from the Spanish government, Bankia will receive about 36 billion euros in total. BFA/Bankia was created in 2010 as a result of a merger between Caja Madrid and other five smaller savings banks.