Major spanish banks perform well although profits fall

Spain's five major banks are still performing well in current economic situation, although their profits in the first months of the year fell compared with a year earlier, figures showed on Friday. The five banks (Bankia, Santander, BBVA, Banco Popular and Caixabank) reported profits of 9.9 billion euros (13.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of the year. Although that figure is 14 percent less than the same period last year, it shows they are still performing well. The figures should help to ease worries that the banks will not be able to meet the new nine percent capital obligations. Among the agreements of European leaders to solve the ongoing crisis was to raise the core capital ratio of the continent's banks to 9 percent by June 30, 2012. It is calculated that the decision is to cost the five banks around 26 billion euros (35.8 billion dollars). When the measure was announced last week, the banks expressed their confidence they would be able to meet this obligation without the need of public money and that confidence has been backed by their performance in the first nine months of 2011.