Spain became the fourth euro member to seek a bailout since the start of the region's debt crisis more than two years ago with a request for as much as 100 billion euros ($125 billion) to rescue its banks.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who as recently as May 28 said he wouldn't seek a bailout, characterized the deal as a credit line for banks and an endorsement of his policies. He spoke to reporters today in Madrid before flying to Gdansk, Poland, for a soccer match between the national team and Italy.

"The 100 billion euros is the number that we were looking for so I'm cautiously optimistic," Olly Burrows, credit analyst at Rabobank International, said in a telephone interview from London. "We still have to find a solution to the sovereign debt crisis: it's not done yet and we still have to press on with the task of uniting Europe."