By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Spain is fertile ground for a “shareholder spring” over executive pay. Bosses in some cases make multiples more than their peers in other European countries, as do board directors. Investors turned a blind eye in the boom times. Now their inaction is even harder to excuse.

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Spain’s current government, like its predecessor, always seems behind the curve. It has made some progress in passing budget cuts and some structural reforms, but it’s not enough. Only recently did it start to mention additional measures to get the country’s finances under control. The hope is that it won’t fall short.

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Bankia will face its day of reckoning at last. Spain’s parliament had disappointingly declined to investigate the events that led to the Spanish lender’s spectacular 23.5 billion euro bailout. But after a suit launched by one of Spain’s smaller independent parties, the country’s High Court has launched a high-profile fraud probe, meaning that bank’s former board members will have to face the music. At the top of the list is ex-chairman Rodrigo Rato, former conservative finance minister and head of the International Monetary Fund. This is a welcome step towards a necessary Spanish banking cleanup.

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Mariano Rajoy has won a victory, of sorts. Germany yielded to the Spanish prime minister’s request that the euro zone should be able to prop up his country’s teetering banks directly. If that happens, the state’s debt load won’t need to shoot up by 100 billion euros.

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Joaquin Almunia, the vice-president of the European Commission, has prematurely weighed into the debate on possible conditions attached to the country’s 100 billion euro bank bailout. Before the rescue operation even began, he opined that liquidating a bank could make sense if the costs of keeping it alive with public money exceed the costs of shutting it down. This sounds sensible in theory. But in Spain, it’s not that simple.

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo and Hugo Dixon

The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.

Spain is still vulnerable after its mega bank bailout. Madrid has finally got a credible plan for its lenders: it will receive up to 100 billion euros from its euro partners to boost their capital. But the state’s debt will rise as a result, the economy is still shrinking and the government has lost a lot of credibility. Spain may yet require a full bailout. That would really test the single currency.

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

With multiple government officials speaking at once, it’s hard to know exactly what Spain is thinking. Having one authoritative voice would help. One thing seems clear: the government is not yet asking for a bailout. Still, some outside help might be inevitable for the country’s banks.

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Madrid’s elites profess shock at the fact that the country has been pushed to the brink. Spain’s top companies have even put together a report outlining the country’s strengths, and asking investors to look at the hard data. But laying the blame on ignorant investors, evil foreign media and the euro zone’s paralysis doesn’t help.

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Bankia’s whopping bailout is a mixed blessing. The Spanish lender has asked the government for a higher-than-expected 19 billion euros to fill its capital hole. State support will shore up a systemic institution. But the scale of the cleanup implies other weak lenders are also short of cash. It is unlikely that Madrid can fill the gap on its own.

By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Bank nationalisations are never pretty, but they are generally supposed to reassure savers. That’s why a report that depositors fled Bankia after the government last week took control of Spain’s fourth-largest lender is so troubling. The government has denied the report, and Bankia’s new chairman said depositors can be absolutely calm. Yet the latest share price plunge inflicts further pain on clients who participated in the lender’s IPO last summer.