"Exposure to the construction and property development sectors implies a significant risk for the Spanish banking system," the central bank said in a report. Spanish banks have taken increasing numbers of properties onto books due to debtor awards, payments in kind and purchases and these amounted to $80 billion at the end of December. The BoS said this activity is a habitual tool when dealing with loans related to construction and real estate development because guarantees comprise physical assets. The bank also recognized that the figure could increase.

The bank calculated total potentially problematic exposure in real estate by adding assets more than 90 days in arrears. Also added in were substandard loans with weaknesses which could degenerate into debts, awarded properties, purchases of assets and incontrovertible losses. The Spanish central bank calculates that $599 billion of credit has been granted to construction and property development in the nation. Excluding investment in electricity, airport infrastructure, petroleum, roads and railway line construction, this falls to $541 billion.