Three Spanish cajas to merge Three unlisted Spanish savings banks are to merge, in the latest in a chain of deals that has sliced the number of cajas from 45 to less than 10 since the country's banking crisis took hold. Liberbank, Ibercaja and Caja3 will combine to create Spain's seventh-biggest lender by assets at a time when smaller lenders struggle to set aside billions in new provisions enforced by Madrid in its efforts to cleanse them of troubled real estate assets. The new bank, which came about following several months of talks between the three cajas and other rivals, will hold troubled loans to developers of about €12bn. Ibercaja and Caja3 had already agreed to merge, with Liberbank joining them after failing to agree a deal with rivals BMN and Unicaja. Analysts have criticised the prospect of fusing more savings banks together after Bankia-BFA, the result of a seven-way merger, was forced to request a €19bn bailout last week, sending Spain's government borrowing costs over Germany to euro-era highs. The Bank of Spain has already nationalised and sold off the troubled cajas Unnim, bought by BBVA, and CAM, purchased by Sabadell. Banca Cívica, another merged caja which was listed on the stock market last summer along with Bankia, was merged with Caixabank. Banco de Valencia, a former subsidiary of Bankia which was nationalised last year, Novacaixagalicia and Catalunyacaixa remain under auction from the Bank of Spain.