Lagarde says IMF ready to help with Spain's banks

The head of the International Monetary Fund said today the global lender stood ready to help monitor the assistance the euro zone intends to provide to Spain's banks, and said the size of the planned aid appeared ample.

"The IMF stands ready, at the invitation of the Eurogroup members, to support the implementation and monitoring of this financial assistance through regular reporting," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement.

She said the euro zone's plan to provide up to 100 billion euros (US$125 billion) was consistent with the IMF's estimate of the capital needs of Spain's banks and should provide "assurance that the financing needs of Spain's banking system will be fully met."