Key Bank of Spain employees on trial over Bankia flotation resign

THREE top bosses at the Bank of Spain have resigned due to being investigated in relation to the Bankia flotation scandal.

Manager Mariano Herrera, his right-hand man Pedro Comín and inspector Pedro González have stood down to protect the Bank of Spain's interests while the inquiry is open.

Former deputy manager Fernando Restoy, ex-governor Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, and ex-chairman of the National Markets and Values Commission (CNMV), Julio Segura, have also been named in the case, along with two other existing key employees Javier Arístegui and Jerónimo Martínez.

Despite repeated warnings by the Bank of Spain's investigation team about how the State-owned Bankia was not a viable flotation proposition, and that launching on the stock market would cause serious financial damage to its shareholders and contributors – to the tune of €15 billion – the Bank of Spain bosses under scrutiny still authorised the move.

The National Court examined email conversations between inspector José Antonio Casaus and his superiors and says it considers 'enough evidence exists' of 'multiple incidences of criminal activity' to charge the Bank of Spain's bosses.

The judge considers that the Bank of Spain and the CNMV 'offered inestimable cooperation' to the former managers of Bankia and 'consciously assisted in maintaining the deceit' necessary for the ill-advised flotation to go ahead.

The CNMV argues that it considered the flotation to be 'correct' and that its advice was given 'with due diligence and professionalism'.