German parliament approves Spanish bank bailout Opening the debate, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said "today is about giving Spain the necessary time to solve its banking problems. In this exceptional situation, we are helping the Spanish state to battle against the overblown nervousness of the financial markets and we are therefore making our contribution to the overall financial stability of the eurozone. Spain is hoping to get a first slice of €30bn by the end of the month and has in turn agreed to a raft of banking sector reforms and EU inspections to ensure the restructuring process is effective. Demonstrating the urgency of the rescue, a Spanish bond auction earlier today resulted in sharply higher borrowing costs and lower demand, pushing rates on the secondary market up towards the 7pc level seen as unsustainable. The debate in Germany, which is putting up nearly 30pc of the loans, has revolved around who is liable for guarantees. EU leaders agreed at a summit last month that money from their permanent bailout fund could be used directly to finance banks but only once a comprehensive Europe-wide oversight body, probably under the European Central Bank, was in place. Berlin has insisted that until then, the Spanish government is responsible for the loans - and for ensuring they are repaid. "Spain makes the application, Spain gets the money to recapitalise its banks and Spain is liable as a country for the aid," Schaeuble stressed. Analysts were broadly relaxed about the parliamentary vote and it made few waves on the markets. Economists are eyeing what could be bigger speed bump on the road towards saving the euro on September 12, when Germany's top court rules on whether the eurozone's €500bn permanent rescue fund can be passed into law. The Federal Constitutional Court is to hand down its judgement on a raft of challenges to the European Stability Mechanism and the EU's fiscal pact after Germany's president withheld his signature, delaying their entry into force. Observers expect the court to allow the key crisis tools to pass but may insist that Germany's parliament have a greater say in future rescue action, meaning today's emergency vote is unlikely to be the last, analysts said.