Madrid - AFP
Bailed-out Spanish lender Bankia said Thursday it has returned to profits in the first half with earnings reaching 192 million euros ($253 million), vastly improved from the loss of 4.45 billion euros during the same period last year. Bankia was nationalised by the Spanish government in May 2012. Its fate prompted a broader rescue for the country\'s ailing banking sector that raised fears that Spain would need a full sovereign bailout.