Spanish bad loans level dips slightly in March

MADRID, May 19 (AFP): The level of bad loans held by Spanish banks, which peaked at the end of 2013, edged down in March to 13.39 per cent from 13.4 per cent, data published on Monday by the Bank of Spain showed.

Loans that were at risk of not being repaid -- mostly mortgages -- reached 192.77 billion euros (US$264.5 billion) in March, said the central bank.

Spanish banks also seized almost 50,000 homes in 2013, 11.1 per cent more than in the previous year, data from the central bank showed.

Spanish banks are burdened by bad loans made during a decade-long property bubble that burst in 2008, tipping the nation into recession and throwing millions out of work.

Despite shoring up their balance sheets with a 41.3-billion-euro rescue loan from Spain's eurozone partners, the banks have struggled under stubbornly high bad-loan levels.