HBG

CAM bank, the biggest Caja in the Alicante province has been bailed out and then taken over by the Bank of Spain. CAM has tens of thousands of British account holders and holds tens of thousands of properties which are vastly overvalued and can never be sold. It has a ridiculous exposure to the top Spanish developers and builders who have gone bankrupt and can never repay their debts.

What this means to the Spanish property market is horrendous, and the plight of Brits with CAM mortgages is already at bursting point. The directors appointed to run the bank are ruthless and after a 6 Billion rescue package will move heaven and earth to get their money back. The take-over came on Friday night after the markets closed and hasn't been that well reported.

I was going to put my property on the market last year, but then decided to wait until it improved. Looks like I'm going to have to be patient.

steviedeluxe

This may be of interest to some. Anyone has a Santander mortgage here?

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/engli...7elpeng_15/Ten

HBG

The latest Spanish news about CAM is that the BOS have discovered such a widespread net of corruption within CAM that it is going to shut it down altogether.

If you're an account holder this may be the time to change banks.

I watched a long queue at a local branch this morning but they're refusing to pay out large sums on instructions from head office.

DLC

Do we trust the Bank of Spain's pledge to guarantee up to €100,000? When do they pay up by the way?

Not that I'm wanting to encourage a bank run but I'd be thinking of the pros and cons transferring it out over the Internet (if large sums aren't allowed then small sums and if the website is overloaded then in the wee small hours), use cash machines on the same network as CAM's, or get it out with one of those reverse payment order thingies from another bank.

HBG

Sorry to keep going on, but I'm trying to be helpful.

Last Friday, the Bank of Spain took over Cam after the markets closed. On Saturday, they sacked all the CAM directors. On Monday they injected 2.8 Billion into CAM to cover the expected withdrawals and opened a credit line of another 3 Billion for the bigger fish withdrawing.

This week Mr Camps, the Valencian president, resigned. He is facing a major corruption trial. The PP leader has backed Camps for years. The socialists are now calling for a November election, because when the shit hits the fan in September when CAM's relations with Camps and others in the PP camp are revealed, they might have a chance of winning.

The biggest Alicante provincial newspaper, Informacion, revealed yesterday that one of the many discrepancies in the CAM accounts showed that they charged buyers 2% commission while only 0.2% were shown in the company accounts. An amazing 1.8% disappeared down a black hole, millions of Euros.

My wise friend, a Spaniard, went to CAM first thing on Monday morning to electronically transfer his large holding to another Spanish bank, They said it would take three weeks and only a call to a regional manager, a friend, authorised the transfer that day.

The regional manager, not because of this transaction, does not expect to have a job in September, possibly not even next week.

Dick Dasterdly

Mention on BBC today that Spains credit rating is expected to drop further with increasing concern regarding the bigger banks such as Santander and BBVA.
All very worrying.
Could be out of the frying pan into the fire for those jumping ship from the ailing small banks to the big boys.
Quite a few ppl expecting substantial losses from Santander bond investments also, but thats nothing new.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110729/165453191.html

HBG

Don't frighten me, Dick. I've so far managed to get out of Northern Rock in time, as well as RBS, and CAM. If Santander goes to the wall, so will I.

But I'm such a small player that if I put it all under the mattress I wouldn't notice the difference.

petew

Fortunately I only have a small amount with CAM now. At the moment I am in the UK - I am assuming that my CAM card will still work in a UK cash machine. I'll find out later on today!

HBG

I've just tried it in Spain and it still works. It will probably still work until they try to sell the bank in September.

If you want to keep the account on after that, it might benefit you to learn Chinese.

petew

Just succesfully got cash at UK atm. If they sell the bank as a going concern I would think everything will continue to function. Your cryptic reference to Chinese - they are getting in everywhere else so why not banking?! The thing is (as my son who is in Telecoms knows from experience) they don't compete fairly.

HBG

The hot money seems to be on Santander to take over, it would make sense.

helenpea

I am so glad I found this forum, it has been very informative.
I have been listening to news items with interest but did not realise there was such corruption at Cambank . It doesn't surprise me !
They are impossible to deal with and one of the most ineffective businesses I have ever come across.
Does anyone know what would happen to mortgagees with Cambank if the bank fails or is sold off ?
What will happen to people who are in the process of repossession ?
Will they soften their approach to clients ?
At the moment they are taking a very hard line with struggling customers. They are refusing dations and take a 'zero tolerance approach' to helping anyone who finds themselves in difficulty.
I heard on Radio 4 that Santander are offering a 3 year moratorium to their mortgagees who have had their income reduced. I can't imagine Cambank doing anything like that .
When arriving at the new Alicante terminal it was cheering to see all the air bridges advertising Cam. Now I know where some of my money is being spent ! Nice to see it is being used in a useful way !!

w1ldcat

Im worried sick , i have momey in cam so im hifx back to the uk ASAP. my bills go out n pay my morgage on a DD . Have keep enough funds in so i can pay them . But im not back out till oct . Need to talk to my lawyer , To do his power of wotsit , find another f 'in bank. which ive no hassle been with cam , they been helpfull to us in last 4 yrs . As for santander they give me grief every way.

HBG

CAM bank have been 'nationalised' and will keep working as normal until a buyer is found, with a 'sealed-bid' sale scheduled for the end of September.

Nobody knows what will happen then or later.

I remember the infamous BICC bank being closed by the BOE in the late eighties. I had a fancy credit card from BICC, which I had just received. I used it to buy a gold watch.

I sat back and waited for the newly appointed receivers to contact me with payment instructions. They never came.

jackytoo

You should contact them. AFAIK they got a payout of around 80p for every pound lost!

Just realised...you owe them!