Luis de Guindos

Indebted eurozone countries such as Greece or Italy need European Union grants rather than loans to deal with the impact of the coronavirus crisis, European Central Bank Vice-President Luis de Guindos said on Wednesday.

The new bankruptcy law that the government is working on will offer incentives for the merger of companies that have nonperforming corporate loans entering a restructuring process, according to sources. The aim is to have the bill voted into law by the end of April, in line with the country's pledges in the process of the post-bailout enhanced surveillance.

European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos warned on Monday in Athens that the high level of nonperforming loans held by Greek banks represent the soft underbelly of the country's economy, stressing that all instruments should be used for their reduction.

The European Central Bank sees early signs of stabilization in the global economy and inflation remaining at the same levels over the next 12 months in the eurozone, the ECB vice president said on Monday, but he cautioned that the coronavirus outbreak in China is creating uncertainty.

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank has named Greek central bank chief Yannis Stournaras as a member of the council's audit committee, replacing Erkki Liikanen, the Bank of Greece said on Friday.

The crisis in Catalonia cost Spain's state budget at least 1 billion euros.

"The Catalan crisis and the referendum on independence cost a billion euros," said Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos.

 Investment projects in the northeastern region of Catalonia have been paralyzed and the sale of a stake in state-run lender Bankia put on hold because of the current political uncertainty, Spain's economy minister said on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Greece's privatization agency took action on Wednesday to settle a legal case that could hold up the disbursement of vital fresh bailout loans to the deeply indebted country.

Athens last week secured an 8.5-billion-euro financial lifeline, the latest from its eurozone creditors, allowing it to avoid defaulting on debt repayments next month.

The Eurogroup may block an 8.5-billion-euro credit lifeline to Greece if the country does not grant immunity to privatization agency officials from Spain, Italy and Slovakia, Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Friday.

In 2015, a Greek prosecutor charged three officials at the country's privatization agency over a sale and lease-back deal of 28 state-owned buildings.

When the eurozone finance ministers last gathered in Brussels on May 22 to haggle over debt relief for Greece, Spain's representative Luis de Guindos turned to the International Monetary Fund's representative Poul Thomsen and, according to the leaked minutes of the meeting, said, "You cannot be half-pregnant."