Austria's Finance Minister Maria Fekter, left, gestures while speaking with Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos during a meeting of EU finance ministers at the European Council building in Luxembourg on Friday, June 22, 2012. European finance ministers are meeting in Luxembourg to discuss the idea of a tax on financial transactions that would be used to make banks pay for their own bailouts. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
MADRID - Spain says the size of the bank bailout it requests from the other eurozone countries will be determined and published July 9.
Economy Minister Luis de Guindos says that on that day Spain and its single currency partners will reach agreement on the terms of the loan, such as the interest rate. He estimated the rate would be around 3-4 per cent.
De Guindos spoke in Luxembourg after a meeting with other eurozone ministers. He said a letter formally requesting the loan will be delivered Monday but it will be only two paragraphs long, with no mention of terms or amount.
A day earlier, independent auditors estimated Spain's troubled bank sector would need up to €62 billion in new money to survive a severe economic downturn.
