UPDATE: Spain's Economic minister Luis de Guindos told reporters in Brussels he had "absolutely not discussed any intervention in Spain's banks" at an EU meeting on Wednesday and that they had a "road map" which includes making no decisions until the audit of Spain's banks later in June.
Spain's Treasury minister has called on the eurozone to help rescue its debt-laden banks, in a sign that the region could be heading for a fresh crisis.
Treasury minister Cristobal Montoro has admitted that Spain needs outside help to prop up its banks, saying that high borrowing costs mean that the market doors are now effectively closed to the nation.
He called on the eurozone to stand by its obligation to help the nation pull itself out of its economic mire, telling Spanish broadcaster Onda Cero:
"It's so important that the European institutions open up and help us achieve, help facilitate, that figure because we're not talking about astronomical figures", reports The Telegraph
Spain wants more than 80bn euros or £65bn to recapitalise its banks, reports the BBC. It is appealing solely for financial support of its banks, shying away from soldiering the debt as a nation, as happened in Greece.
Cristobal Montoro, Treasury Minister for Spain, has appealed to the euro zone for help
Bailing out Spain would not only be humiliating for the country but could also have much more far reaching effects. The social and political fall-out could be dire, and the financial crisis risks spreading to Italy.
There are also fears that the fourth biggest country in the eurozone is too big to bailout. "Spain cannot be rescued in the technical sense of the term " Montoro told Ondo Cero on Tuesday, reports AFP.
With words that conveyed the nation's fear over a bailout, Montoro told Ondo Cero Spain doesn't need the 'Men in Black.' The ominous name refers to the the faceless financial powers that economically bolster a country, only to plunge them into fresh political and social turmoil.
The plea from Spain's treasury came amid continued turmoil in the eurozone area, with ratings agency Moody's downgrading the credit ratings of six German banking groups and three banks in Austria