For the Spanish banks, a programme of recapitalization using European funds of up to € billion was authorized in July, of which € billion (3.9 per cent of GDP) has already been disbursed. Unlike many of the foreign interventions, the support extended to MPS, like that given to other, smaller Italian banks in recent years, is not the bail-out of a troubled bank.
It is in the form of a loan that is eligible as regulatory capital, granted by the government at an interest rate that is particularly high and rising over time.