Spanish bank profits to be hit by bad debt-cenbank

MADRID, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Spanish banks' results will suffer in the coming quarter as they are forced to increase provisions for rising bad debts amid the global financial crisis and domestic economic slowdown, the Bank of Spain said on Wednesday.

Spain's retail focused banks have felt no direct impact from U.S. subprime problems but will not escape an "intense" rise in defaults as the collapse of a decade-long housing boom coincides with credit market turmoil, the Bank of Spain said.

"Higher bad debt will hit income statements due to higher provisioning needs," the Bank of Spain said in a report on the Spanish financial system.

Spain's leading banks Santander (SAN.MC) and BBVA (BBVA.MC) diversified out of domestic property years ago and are expected to take advantage of knock-down asset values to buy rivals.

Smaller institutions and savings banks have higher real estate exposure and financing problems which have raised expectations for mergers.

Wholesale credit markets remain practically blocked to Spanish banks and institutions will continue to cut lending and experience rising bad debt in coming quarters, the Bank of Spain said.

Spain's bad debt ratio has tripled in the past year to 2.5 percent of outstanding loans in August, marking the highest rate since 1998, but still below the euro zone average.

"In coming quarters we will see bad debt coverage ratios converge with historic average levels more in line with those seen in other banking systems in our region," the central bank said.

Banks will focus on capturing greater deposits and gain some financing relief from a government plan to buy long-term, asset-backed-debt they cannot sell to markets or the European Central Bank, the Bank of Spain said.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero adopted the plan to buy up to 50 billion euros ($64.22 billion) in bank assets as part of coordinated European efforts to support the financial system.

The Bank of Spain said such measures had to be transparent and respect market competition after Spain's opposition raised concerns the government acquisition fund could be prone to bias.

"If this is not the case it would produce undesired negative effects and make it more difficult for markets to differentiate between banks that have managed the crisis well, and those that have not," the Bank of Spain said.

Bank of Spain Governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez expects bank consolidation and mergers as institutions struggle to cut costs and gain financing in a shrinking market.

"It's important banks intensify efforts to increase their cost efficiency," the Bank of Spain said.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Paul Day and Elaine Hardcastle)