Spanish banks well placed for slowdown-B/Spain

MADRID, April 2 (Reuters) - The rate of loan defaults in Spain is likely to rise this year but banks are highly solvent and are well placed to face a slowdown in the economy, the Bank of Spain said on Wednesday.

"Stress tests we have done, using adverse macroeconomic scenarios, confirm the Spanish financial system's ability to resist changes in the environment," the central bank said in a note accompanying a report on the banking system.

Some analysts have worried about what effects a marked slowdown in the Spanish property market could have on banks and savings banks. (Reporting by Jane Barrett; Editing by Joe Ortiz)