Spain Said to Ask Banks to Accept Losses on Loans for Highways

Spain’s government is asking banks including Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA to accept losses on about 3.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) of debt backed by highways, three people familiar with the matter said.

Officials discussed their proposal with the lenders that financed eight failed highways at a meeting yesterday, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Officials, who also invited the owners of the concessions to the talks, are asking banks to accept haircuts to reduce the potential cost for taxpayers, the people said. They didn’t specify the size of the proposed write-down.