Bankia’s shares slide on debut

Spanish lender Bankia’s shares fell sharply in value as they started trading for the first time in Madrid.

Bankia was formed from the shotgun wedding of heavyweight Caja Madrid with six smaller regional savings banks.

It did raise 3.1 billion euros on Monday with its initial public offering of shares after slashing the price at the last minute to attract investors amid the euro zone debt crisis.

Nevertheless, Chairman Rodrigo Rato said the offering was a success considering a backdrop of jittery euro zone debt markets and an aversion to stocks, as well as to Spain in general.

“We’ve done it in the middle of a real storm in the market, created by some of the toughest financial conditions of the last decade,” Rato said at the Madrid stock exchange.

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