Call for rates freeze

SPAIN’S deputy prime minister, Yolanda Diaz, has called on banks to freeze mortgage interest rate rises after one of the country’s lenders announced record earnings.

BBVA, which is Spain’s second-biggest bank, showed a 38% increase in net profits, which came in at an all-time high of €6.42 billion in 2022. This was partly due to a double-digit rise in lending income, as well as the bank’s performance in Mexico, which accounted for more than 60% of the lender’s net earnings. The figures came just a day after the Euribor interest rate, the benchmark used for the calculation of most mortgages in Spain, hit 3.337%, the highest level since December 2008.

Lupton, who the Olive Press revealed paid €45 million in 2011.

The 350-year-old estate was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1993 and will continue to host functions and be used for filming.

Tennis star Rafa Nadal and foot-

Digital future

“We don’t want digital nomads, we want residents,” said Digitalisation Minister Carme Artigas.. “Our hope is that the nomad visa is very attractive but then they stay in our country and put down roots.” Some 22% of Spain’s economy is digital-based, with start-up hubs growing.

baller Gareth Bale both got married there.

It has long been popular with foreign owners, with Argentine painter Roberto Ramauge buying it in 1919 and turning it into a luxury residence.

However, it was seized by Franco’s forces during the Civil War and legal wrangling meant the Ramauge family did not repossess it until 1984.

The next owner, a Brit, John Ogden, purchased it in 1989 spending millions on renovating the 232 acre site. He eventually put it on the market in 2008 for an unbelievable €125m before selling it three years later to Lord Lupton for a third the price.

Diaz said that the current costof-living crisis ‘cannot be an excuse to earn more’.

“While the rise of the Euribor will make the average mortgage €250 a month more expensive, BBVA’s profits have grown 38%,” she continued.

Cash In

AN Andalucian town is giving an ‘aid’ package of €750 to families in an attempt to avoid depopulation.

Canillas de Aceituno in the Axarquia is giving the cash to families that have lived permanently in the village for at least a year.