Justice minister does partial backtrack on court charges

Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón told lawmakers in Congress on Tuesday that he plans to partially modify controversial court filing charges that his department recently introduced.

The fees for basic legal measures such as divorce petitions have raised the hackles of members of the judiciary system itself, who have argued it restricts access to justice to the well-off.

"We are aware that Spaniards are going through bad times,"

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said Tuesday that he understood the frustrations felt by many Spaniards because of the government’s harsh reforms but asked for patience because they will “take time” to produce positive results.

Speaking at a news conference after meeting behind closed doors with deputies in Congress, the ECB chief said that he came to Spain “to listen as well as recognize all the efforts” that are being undertaken by the government.

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Bankia to speed up branch closures

Nationalized bank Bankia said Monday it plans to speed up the process of branch closures as part of the slimming down of its operations required under the European bailout for the banking sector.

In a statement posted on its website, Bankia said it now plans to close 1,100 offices this year instead of spreading out the process over three years as initially planned. Bankia’s restructuring also calls for the laying off of 4,500 workers

Overseas investment in Spanish debt suffers biggest fall in 16 years

As fears about the euro subsided, the improvement in foreign investor confidence in Spain toward the end of last year was not enough to offset a massive sell-off of government debt capital in the first nine months of 2012.

According to figures released Monday by the Treasury, public debt in the hands of overseas investors at the end of 2012 was down 56.8 billion euros from a year earlier at 224.662 billion, the biggest fall in 16 years.

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Cabinet aproves legislation that removes regional barriers to trade

 

The Cabinet on Friday approved a draft bill creating a single market that will allow companies and professionals in Spain to offer their goods and services across the country.

Under the proposed legislation, it will be sufficient for a company that has obtained a license from one of the regional governments to sell goods that comply with technical specifications to do so in the rest of the country.

Unemployment hits yet new record high at the end of 2012

Unemployment in Spain reached record highs in the last quarter of 2012 as the recession deepened due to the government’s austerity drive to trim the public deficit.

According to the Active Population Survey (EPA) for the fourth quarter, released Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of people out of work fell just short of six million at 5.965 million as the jobless rate rose from 25.02 percent to 26.02 percent, both records for the current historical series, which dates back to 1976.

Reforms to bank laws will not cap directors’ salaries

Draft reforms to legislation covering Spain’s savings banks, which the government is in the process of finalizing, will not impose a cap on the salaries of the administrative boards.

However, according to the text of the planned law, the savings banks — known as cajas – will be obliged to send an annual corporate governance report to the markets watchdog, the CNMV, within which they must specify the amounts paid to their boards of directors, including expenses and pension plan contributions.

If the bank in question has received bailout funds, directors’ salaries will be subject to previous legislation, which set limits of 600,000 euros a year.

Figures for fuel consumption fall to lowest level since 1990s

Fuel consumption fell an "unprecedented" six percent in 2012, as prices continued to rise, the National Energy Commission (CNE) said Friday

Although the December figure is still missing, consumer behavior to November was enough for the CNE to state in a report that "fuel consumption will register the greatest annual fall in 2012 since the beginning of the crisis in 2007, consolidating at levels of the 1990s.

The industry watchdog noted that despite dwindling demand, fuel prices continued to rise. The CNE said this increase cannot be solely explained by higher raw material prices. To August, operators maintained "a gross distribution margin of over 20 cents a liter, the highest in recent years."