In the case of Spain, the larger, internationalized banks were, in fact, held on a tight leash. Foreign investors expected high governance standards. And they came through the crisis well.41 But the same cannot be said for the local mortgage lenders, the cajas that made up 50 percent of the credit market.42 They were tightly connected with local politics and deeply immersed in the real estate boom. Between 2002 and 2009 their business grew by a factor of 2.5, resulting in a combined balance sheet of 483 billion euro, or 40 percent of Spanish GDP.43
