For years, the two Banks closely mimicked each other, expanding in Spain, which is still the main source of profits, and in Latin America.

There is no sign in the data that banking fears are spreading to Spain, which is by all accounts the next big European economy on the hit list, let alone much bigger Italy.

The Spanish bank, which has about two-thirds of its loan book in mortgages, earlier today reported a slump in fourth-quarter profit as revenue from lending plunged.