Fitch lowers rating on 18 more Spanish banks

Fitch Ratings lowered its rating on 18 more Spanish banks, following the downgrade of Spain's sovereign debt last week, on the expectation that the country will remain in recession through 2013
The downgrades also reflected the ratings firm's concerns that the portfolio of certain banks could deteriorate further
Banks whose loan books are heavily exposed to the construction and real-estate sectors, or have low equity bases, are particularly vulnerable, it said
Fitch has carried out new stress tests, both on the Spanish banking sector as a whole and on an individual basis, that factor in Spain's deteriorating macroeconomic conditions
The crisis has contributed to heightened risk aversion over Spanish debt, affecting Spanish banks' access to funding and their costs
The banks affected are entirely domestic institutions, highly sensitive to the evolution of Spain's economy and its housing market
They include CaixaBank, Bankia, and Banco Popular Espanol
Fitch Ratings on Monday downgraded two other Spanish banks, Banco Santander SA  and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA , by two notches, on similar logic
The downgrades came after the Spanish government agreed over the weekend to a European Union bailout of as much as 100 billion euros ($125 billion) for its banks, hoping the funds will help shore up an ailing financial industry strained by a massive housing bust
Fitch said it hasn't changed its view of Spain's sovereign rating