Lionel Laurent, Columnist

Banco Un-Popular

Investors have high hopes of a rescue that may not materialize.

May 22, 2017 at 6:15 AM UTC

Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist writing about the future of money and the future of Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for Reuters and Forbes.

1495301151_m789284 — Photographer: Denis Doyle/Bloomberg

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Quoting Charles Darwin1495213907574 was probably not the best omen for Banco Popular as it booked a 3.6 billion-euro ($4 billion) annual loss.

The Spanish lender has tapped shareholders for new capital three times in the last five years and is now racing to find a buyer who can help plug an estimated 5 billion-euro capital gap. The bank has survived Spain's real-estate bust, but it's definitely not the fittest.