EU backs Spain assistance request NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The EU issued a statement Saturday in support of Spain’s request for financial assistance for its troubled banks. It added that it expects the loans to total about 100 billion euros ($125 billion). “The loan will be scaled to provide an effective backstop covering for all possible capital requirements estimated by the diagnostic exercise which the Spanish authorities have commissioned to the external evaluators and the international auditors,” said the statement. The funding will be provided by the European Financial Stability Facility. The Spanish government will have full responsibility for the funds, and will channel them to the financial institutions, added the statement.