Luis de Guindos, vice-president of the European Central Bank, speaks during a Reuters Breakingviews event in New York, U.S., April 25, 2019. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEven though higher interest rates are boosting banks' financial margins, De Guindos said that a banking levy right now could have negative side-effects. "We could find ourselves in a situation that requires higher provisions" from banks to cope with higher loan losses. "We don't have to look just at the short term, let's look beyond it," De Guindos said, warning of the risks to the companies most affected by the energy crunch. The Spanish government wants the legislation approved before the end of the year.

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