SPANISH CRISIS--Former IMF and Bankia boss charged with massive fraud
Jul 08, 2012
Spain’s Bob Diamond is Rodrigo Rato. The difference is, Rato is heading for jail
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy forced Rato, 63, to quit Bankia seven weeks ago, just before the bank was nationalised and became the biggest-ever failed Spanish lender. On May 10th this year, The Slog posted:
‘Sources in troubled Spanish bank Bankia confirmed yesterday that auditors Deloittes had discovered what they called ‘an inflated statement of liquidity’ for 2011 in the Caja division of the Group.
What?? He lied about the real financial condition of the bank??? What a shock. Surely no other bank CEO would do that.
The Slog’s view – based on local information – has always been that both the level of unsold property and the degree of arrears there are hugely understated.’
In other words, the bank pretended that their mortgages were worth what they stated on the pieces of paper, even though the real market value had dropped. Surely the American banks wouldn't do such a thing!