Anger at Bankia AGM

Angry shareholders of Bankia heckled bosses at the annual general meeting and demanded compensation for its share price slump.

What they got was an apology from the new Chief Executive Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri and a pledge to turn the business around.

The fact that EU leaders have agreed banks can have direct access to the European Stability Mechanism bailout fund was a talking point among the shareholders.

One of them, Juan Muñoz, said: “We don’t know whether the measures approved last night by the European Union will apply for Bankia. If we are talking about direct aid, it would be, without any doubt, much better for the country and for the institution.”

At the shareholders meeting, Spain’s fourth largest lender also said it will shed half of its property assets, 30 billion euros worth, by 2015.

At the same time Spain’s stock market regulator said all the rules were followed in the sale of Bankia shares last July so there are no grounds for compensation.

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