Spanish bank group agrees to halt evictions

(AP) Spain's Banking Association says it will halt evictions of indebted home owners in extreme need for the next two years.

The halt, which will be observed by Spain's largest banks, is aimed at taking the heat out of an increasingly dramatic trend affecting thousands of people caught in the economic crisis.

Conservative government officials will meet Monday with leading Socialist opposition party members to discuss new regulations governing evictions. The talks took on greater urgency after the suicide of a second person about to suffer eviction on Friday.

In Spain, home owners unable to make mortgage payments may be evicted but still remain liable to repay whatever value is left on the mortgage after the repossession. More than 350,000 people have lost their homes in this way over the past four years.