[Anonymous]

The petition to the Governor of the Bank of Spain is now on its way. Because the best laid plans etc… and because time is running out, it was decided to post the petition. So anyone wishing to support it and tell their own story in detail to the Governor now is the time to do that. But first, read on.

I have a couple of things to report.

1. Michael Cashman, who wrote to the Governor after I sent the Open Letter to all
MEPs, has now had a reply – a copy of which he sent to me today. It reads
(complete with errors):

Dear Mr Cashman

Thank you for your letter of January 9, 2009 regarding off-plan property and bank guarantees. While I appreciate it your concern on the issue, let me inform you that Banco de Espana is aware of the importance of this matter and all the necessary actions within the scope of its supervisory competences are taken in order to ensure full compliance with regulatory requirements.

Additionally, since 1987, Banco the Espana counts with a “Complaint Service” which carries out a bank customer’s protection procedure, provided that there is a prior complain filed before the Customer Assistance Department of the private bank. Banco de Espana Complaint Service is part of FINNET, the European Network dealing with protection of financial customers.

Nevertheless, since our Complaint Service is not part of the Judiciary, its reports are not binding but can be used as expert witness evidence before the competent Court.

A more detailed information is available in English at http//www.bde.es/servicio/reclama/reclamae.htm

Yours sincerely
[scrawled signature]

So please note that if/when you write you should provide evidence of the complaint you made to the bank providing the guarantee together with their reply.

2. Yesterday I received a copy of a letter from Mark Francois, Shadow Minister for Europe, addressed to Alan Duncan, my MP who I had been to see last month. AD showed concern and promised me to raise our issues with William Hague, etc. So this is (maybe) a beginning. MF is having lunch with the new Spanish Ambassador, Carlos Casajuana, round about now (mid Feb) and is going ‘to raise this issue with him and impress upon him that something ought to be done.’ Unfortunately his office has been closed today as I wanted to give him more information re the petitions/bank guarantee problems/Auken report, etc. before he went to lunch. He needs all the ammunition he can muster. Well, no matter, perhaps it’s just as well that MF starts gently and puts the screws on later! I think it’s called diplomacy. I’ll keep you updated.

3. The petition to the Governor of the BoS has been revived – this time in Spanish by a fellow petitioner. See it at: http://www.gopetition.com/online/25216.html

Nuff for now.
roots

[Anonymous]

You may be interested in the following gleaned from a quick Wikipedia search. The banks which figured in the petition (and how respectable and reputable they all are) are:

BBVA (2nd largest and 7th largest financial institution in the western world with a market capitalization of over 61 billion€.)
Banco de Alicante (now integrated into BBVA)
Banco Popular Hipotecario (3rd largest banking group in Spain)
Banco de Andalucia (80% owned by Banco Popular)
Banco de Valencia (6th largest)
Bankinter (=6th largest)
Banco Pastor (7th largest)
CAM (Caja del Mediterraneo (CAM) has become Spain’s first government-controlled savings bank to list on the stock exchange)
HCC (Headquartered in Houston, Texas, HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (HCC) is a leading international specialty insurance group with offices across the United States and in Belgium, Bermuda, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom. HCC has assets of nearly $8.2 billion, shareholders’ equity in excess of $2.5 billion and is rated AA (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor’s and AA (Very Strong) by Fitch Ratings. In addition, HCC’s domestic property and casualty insurance companies are rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company.
La Caixa (Spain’s leading savings bank)
Bank Cajamurcia (?)
Banco Gulpuzcoano (?)
Barclays (?)
SGR (Spain boasts 22 mutual guarantee societies (SGR), the first of which was created in 1979 following political changes in Spain which prompted the implementation of economic polices focussed on openness and productivity. SGR are legally defined as financial institutions, hence fully integrated in the Spanish financial system and controlled by the Bank of Spain.)

roots

[Anonymous]

Roots the way you are going, you should be soon the CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland & HBOS. As the past CEO did not know there products not their competitors, at least you will know the later.

[Author]

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