Claims about Spanish banks
…perhaps the most important reason why the Spanish financial system is
unlikely to suffer a meltdown is the virtual absence of Special
Investment Vehicles (SIV) and conduits. These animals allow banks to
move mortgage-backed securities off their balance sheets, thus
obscuring the exposure of individual institutions and escaping capital
requirements.
There is much more here. Note also that Spanish originators keep a share of each mortgage they securitize. In case you didn’t know it, Spain too has had a bursting of its real estate bubble, although so far they have not had comparable troubles with their banks.