People take part in a protest in front of a BBVA bank office in Barcelona yesterday. Europe will demand that Spanish banks set up a new, multi-billion-euro cushion against home mortgage failures in return for a bailout, a Spanish newspaper said. Fears are rising on the markets that Spain will have to grab an international lifeline because it cannot raise the huge sums required to rescue its bad loan-ridden financial sector. Spain faces soaring borrowing rates on bond markets, which are wary of the banks and pessimistic about the state’s struggle to rein in public deficits at a time of recession and high unemployment.

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