Failing Spanish bank sold for €1

‘Spain’s largest bank Santander bought its rival Banco Popular for a symbolic €1 on Wednesday after the EU had warned the lender was on the verge of collapse. Banco Popular had accumulated €37 billion in toxic real estate loans.
In a statement to the Spanish regulator, Santander said that it was planning to raise €7 billion in fresh capital to rebuild Popular’s balance sheet, the country’s sixth-biggest bank.
The sale was organized in less than 24 hours and followed an acceleration in deposit withdrawals. Reuters sources say it had hit €18 billion euro, equivalent to almost one-quarter of the total.
“This deal is good for Spain, and it’s good for Europe,” Santander chairman Ana Botin said of the agreement. The deal means that Popular’s losses will now be taken on by shareholders and creditors, not taxpayers.’
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