Spanish banks strengthened their position somewhat over the last year, but remain vulnerable to shocks to the global economy, the Bank of Spain says in its latest financial stability report. It frequently mentions instability in China and other global markets as the main threat to the Spanish financial sector.

Spanish banks' solvency improved over the year to December 2015, the report says. The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio for the Spanish commercial banking sector stood at 12.6% at year-end – an