Spain Revival Seen as Development Bank Changes Strategy: Economy

Spain’s state-backed development bank says the recovery in the euro region’s fourth-biggest economy is now strong enough for the lender to shift its strategy to focus on quality rather than quantity.

“Volume won’t be as important in the next phase as it has been in the previous five years,” Roman Escolano, chairman of the Instituto de Credito Oficial, said in a March 7 interview in his office in Madrid. Its share of loans to companies of one year or more peaked at about 11 percent in 2013 and will now begin to shrink as banks’ ability to lend improves, he said.