The International Monetary Fund ( IMF) chief Christine Lagarde on Friday welcomed the latest efforts taken by the Spanish authorities to strengthen the country's banking sector.

"I strongly welcome the comprehensive set of measures announced today by the Spanish authorities. These measures offer an effective response to the vulnerabilities of the banking system while appropriately providing greater transparency and differentiating the needs of the various financial institutions," Lagarde said in a statement.

"We endorse the authorities' approach of significantly raising provisions as a cushion against potential future losses, of providing a government backstop to those institutions that may need additional time, of restructuring and resolving the banks with state participation, and of implementing an independent diagnostic review of all banks' portfolios to frame appropriately further steps," said the managing director of the global lender.

The Spanish government on Friday announced new steps to protect the country's banks against the risks caused by loans going bad, two days after it nationalized 45 percent of Bankia, Spain's fourth biggest bank.

The full implementation of these measures will help bolster confidence and support the economy's return to growth, she added.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet