NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Oct 31, 2012) - Data released earlier week has shown that Spain's economy, the fourth largest in the euro zone, has fallen further into recession. The Bank of Spain has reported that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted for the fifth consecutive quarter. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Foreign Banking Industry and provides equity research on Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: [ SAN ]) Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE: [ BBVA ]).

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The National Statistics Institute has reported that Spain's GDP contracted 0.3 percent in the third quarter, and retail sales declined 11 percent. While Spain continues to fall deeper into recession it has yet to formally request aid from the European Stability Mechanism rescue fund. Instead Spain is focusing on finding investors for its "bad bank" which will buy foreclosed real estate assets at a deep discount. The creation of the "bad bank" was ordered by the European Union as a condition for the country to receive up to 100 billion euros in aid. The "bad bank" is expected to be running by the end of November and Spain's main banks Santander, BBVA and Caixabank are likely to be the main investors, according to Reuters.

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Banco Santander SA is a Spain-based financial institution primarily engaged in the retail banking. The bank recently reported their third quarter net profit plunged 94 percent to EUR 100-million, compared to EUR 1.8-billion in the year-ago quarter. Santander has set aside 5 billion euros ($6.5 billion) to help offset potential real estate losses.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, it is the largest financial institution in Mexico and it has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States.

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