Spain's Santander says meets 9% EU capital requirement

(MADRID) - Santander, Spain's biggest bank and the eurozone's largest by capitalisation, said it has brought its core reserves up to 9.0 percent, meeting stricter funding requirements set by the European Banking Authority.

Banco Santander reiterated its goal of having 10 percent in core capital by the end of June, one percentage point above the level set by the EBA to ensure that the region's largest banks have enough easily accessible funds to get through any fresh financial crisis.

To meet the new EBA requirements, Santander said it boosted its capital by 15.30 billion euros ($19.43 billion), with almost half of the funds coming from the sale of new shares.

In addition to 6.83 billion euros raised through shares, the bank said it raised 4.89 billion euros through "organic capital generation and the transfer of certain stakes, mainly in Chile and Brazil."

According to a financial source who requested anonymity, these transfers included 4.41 percent of Santander Brazil sold via and issue of convertible bonds to sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding.

In December, the EBA warned that Spain's top five banks needed a combined 26.17 billion euros to meet the new core reserve capital requirement of 9.0 percent before June 2012.