Spanish banks need at least $40 b: IMF

The International Monetary Fund is estimatingthat Spanish banks need at least a euro40 billion ($49.87 billion) capital injection following a stress test it performed on the country’s financial sector.

The lending institution said Friday that Spain’s financial sector is well managed but is vulnerable. It recommended that banks raise capital by an additional unspecified amount beyond the euro40 billion to properly restructure troubled banks.

The Spanish government appears resigned to the fact that it needs a bailout from Europe.

Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said on Friday that the country could decide this month whether to request a bailout. She said the government will not act until receiving evaluations from the IMF and two independent auditors Spain has hired. The auditors’ surveys are due by June 21.