Sareb is the bad bank of the Spanish government. Its purpose is to manage and disinvest high-risk assets that were transferred to it from the four nationalized Spanish financial institutions (BFA-Bankia, Catalunya Banc, NGC Banco-Banco Gallego and Banco de Valencia). The company was formed in 2012. The creation of a separate asset resolution entity was an idea proposed by foreign specialists. Their proposals were initially contested and resisted by the Spanish authorities but later accepted as being the appropriate response to the crisis