The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the euro zone's bail-out fund, must carry out simultaneous injections of capital into the region's banks as soon as it can.

ECONOMIST: Echoes of 2008

Spain's government has insisted it will not need to apply for a bail-out from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) - a rescue scheme backed by the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

BBC: Spain credit rating downgrade threatened by Moody's

The package is expected to involve a quadrupling - from the current projected level of 440bn euros - in the firepower of Europe's main bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

BBC: Eurozone rescue plan 'emerging' as IMF and Greece talk