MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish government will pass a law on Friday giving it two more years - until end-2019 - to privatise bailed-out lender Bankia as the administration seeks to maximise returns, a government source said on Thursday.
Bankia (MC:BKIA) became the symbol of Spain's financial crisis when it lost more than 19 billion euros (20.67 billion pounds) in 2012 because of soured real estate holdings and it needed almost half of a 41.3-billion-euro European aid package for Spain's ailing lenders.
Bankia declined to comment.