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In the early 1960s, Franco's Spain began to experience a rapid process of economic growth, which was encouraged by US diplomacy as it would underpin the stability required by the US defence program in the country. However, American officials felt that such an accelerated economic development should be orderly since chaotic modernization might spark social turmoil that would compromise the US geo-strategic objectives in Spain. The article unravels the US public diplomacy programs to steer Spanish society along with a stable development path based on US-inspired capitalism and alliance with the Western bloc. It examines the cultural, educational, and informational means employed by the US government in a bid to channel the socio-economic upheaval occurring in Spain in a direction that was compatible with US security interests. We also argue that modernization theory provided the ideological and intellectual framework for US persuasion efforts to harness Spain's socio-economic ferment. Nevertheless, the 'development model' promoted by the dictatorship generated inequalities and conflicts that fuelled anti-American sentiment among sectors of Spanish society called to play a role in the future post-Franco transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While filing for bankruptcy does not seem appealing for any debtor or creditor regardless of the jurisdiction, the reluctance to use the bankruptcy system varies across countries. This article explores the underlying reasons and economic effects of the low usage of bankruptcy procedures in Spain, where the rate of business bankruptcies is one of the lowest in the world. Some authors have argued that the low usage of bankruptcy procedures in Spain is due to a "cultural" problem faced by Spanish entrepreneurs. According to this hypothesis, the lack of a "bankruptcy culture" makes Spanish entrepreneurs afraid to use of the bankruptcy system. In this paper, however, I advocate for a totally different hypothesis. In my opinion, the low rate of business bankruptcies in Spain is not due to a "cultural" problem but to an institutional one. Namely, I argue that the low rate of business bankruptcies is better explained by the unattractive insolvency regime for debtors and creditors traditionally existing in Spain, as well as other legal and institutional factors including a creditor-friendly corporate law, an efficient mortgage system, a rigid labor law, and a poor law of secured transactions. All these factors encourage both debtors and creditors to avoid the use of insolvency proceedings either by minimizing the risk of insolvency or by postponing--if possible, and even avoiding--the bankruptcy system once a debtor becomes insolvent. By exploring the underlying reasons for the low use of the bankruptcy system in Spain, this paper seeks to contribute to the general understanding of the low rate of business bankruptcies around the world while assessing the economic effects potentially associated with this low usage of bankruptcy procedures. The paper concludes with several recommendations to make use of the bankruptcy system more appealing for debtors and creditors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successive amendments to the Spanish Insolvency Act, carried out by the Spanish Government and Parliament over 2014 and 2015, as well as new judicial interpretations in insolvency-related matters, have led to a state of scarce regulatory consistency and interpretative doubts that affect, among others, the rules concerning secured creditors upon insolvency. In this article, we offer a selection of legal issues related to this class of creditors--pre-insolvency stays, distinction between "security" and "claim" in terms of priority under financial collateral arrangements, "value " of the security in the new insolvency and pre-insolvency systems, pledges on future receivables, and recent developments in the Supreme Court's case law on avoidance Law--as an up-to-date guide which should be of interest to foreign investors facing the risk of insolvency of companies in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debt issue credit ratings can lead to conflicts of interest as the issuer itself is entrusted with contracting and compensating the rating agency. Into the bargain, the credit rating agency may be involved in designing the issues that the same agency subsequently rates. Credit rating agencies thus could have incentives to rate issues advantageously. Given the economic importance of this issue, in this paper we have proposed to analyze this phenomenon, known as rating shopping in academic literature, for Spanish market securitization issues for the period of time comprehensive from January 1993 to December 2011. In sum 3,665 published ratings are been analysed, for an issued nominal amount of 791,090 million Euros. The results show an association between the credit rating agency contracted and the mean rating awarded. Significant differences are observed in the ratings associated to the contracting manager (or special purpose vehicle -SPV- manager firm), to the number of ratings or to the type of collateral. Furthermore, a pattern compatible with rating shopping was observed for some types of collateral: abnormally high market shares associated with certain agencies awarding unusually generous ratings. However, this phenomenon is not seen to be widespread on the rating market associated to Spanish securitization issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses the laws regarding financial collateral (FC) agreements and financial regulations in Spain as of October 2012, focusing on the practical application of the nation's laws in Spanish courts, as well as an analysis of the role of FC regulations in a civil law system. Spanish insolvency law is also addressed in relation to FC agreements.

El artículo analiza diversos decretos y sentencias en Derecho Administrativo de la Unión Europea, España y Portugal emitidos entre diciembre de 2010 y abril de 2011. Entre las regulaciones discutidas se encuentran nuevas normas que rigen los sistemas de pago y liquidación de valores en España, régimen de cauciones para contratos de la Comunidad Autónoma de Madeira, Portugal, y sentencia que sienta jurisprudencia sobre contrataciones públicas.

This paper investigates how the use of collateral (formal contracting), along with the market power of banks (which facilitates relational contracts), affects the availability of credit for business firms. Using loan data from the Spanish Credit Register, we show that the average credit quality of borrowers in a provincial market decreases with market concentration and the availability of collateral. Additionally, the marginal effect of each variable decreases with the higher values of the other variable. We also find that credit line interest rates increase with the availability of collateral, although the increase is lower for banks operating in more concentrated credit markets. Therefore, market power (relations) and collateral (formal contracting) act as substitutes to increase the availability of bank finance under asymmetric information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking security in Spain may pose some uncertainties to non-Spanish lenders as, in general, strict formalities are required to perfect the granting of the security, and the risk of rescission may hover over the securities when insolvency proceedings are commenced. Lenders may also encounter issues and difficulties when foreclosure of a security is required. The purpose of this article is to assist foreign lenders (and their counsel) in the process of considering, negotiating and perfecting security interests in Spain (ie security over assets located in Spain and over which, according to Spanish law, a Spanish law security may be created) and to avoid and mitigate any risks of rescission set forth under Spanish law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews developments related to the international secured transactions and insolvency in 2009 for countries such as Brazil, Spain, Russia and the U.S. It notes that Labor Courts in various countries usually apply the law for the protection of their employees but are faced with limitations to their jurisdiction. It adds that recent amendments to the Insolvency Law takes account on certain provisions of the respective legislation of foreign and developed countries.

The article presents an analysis of article 111 RRM of the Spanish legal code. The author addresses what is described as an over-application of the article, which he indicates is due to a lack of understanding of its proportion. The author also briefly explores the notarial role in preventative legal security.

Authors analyse the judicial institution of "personal guarantees" as a system to ensure the payment of an obligation, which regardless of its arousal in classical doctrine has complete validity and its use is more and more generalized in the diverse judicial businesses, specially in those which have as essential elements the existence of a credit to be paid in the future. A brief review of Spanish Law confirms that it only abides to the figure of security deposit, a form of personal guarantee based on the principle of accessibility, according to which the guarantee goes hand in hand with the credit and is subject to its same vicissitudes, so the lender is obliged to the same (or less) that the guaranteed borrower, and with his same personal situation personal exceptions oponibility). Also, the authors conduct a comparison with the diverse legal ordainments on the matter, concluding that personal guarantees currently agreed upon are quite different from the "unique" model of guarantee designed in the Codes, which has proven itself as non sufficient and little adequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses changes to Spanish common law pertaining to personal property and the extending of credit and collateral without displacement. The author refers to Article 54 of the Law on Chattel Mortgage and Non-Possessory Pledge. The issues of refinancing and loans secured by chattel mortgages serving as cover for bond issues in the mortgage market are addressed by the author.