Spain's Zombie Bank Lurches Toward Uncertain Fate After Loss

Banco Popular Espanol SA’s decade-old crisis may finally be coming to a head.

For years, the Spanish lender managed to hold onto a mountain of soured real-estate loans made before the global financial crisis, tapping shareholders for new capital three times in the last five years. Now, with the stock down 98 percent from its 2007 peak and a market value barely above the amount it raised from investors last year, Chairman Emilio Saracho is pulling out all the stops to stabilize the lender.