Claims about Spanish banks

...perhaps the most important reason why the Spanish financial system is unlikely to suffer a meltdown is the virtual absence of Special Investment Vehicles (SIV) and conduits. These animals allow banks to move mortgage-backed securities off their balance sheets, thus obscuring the exposure of individual institutions and escaping capital requirements.

There is much more here.  Note also that Spanish originators keep a share of each mortgage they securitize.  In case you didn't know it, Spain too has had a bursting of its real estate bubble, although so far they have not had comparable troubles with their banks.