COMING SOON: Spain could decide this month to ask for a bailout for its troubled banking sector, a step that would make it the fourth country in the 17-member eurozone to seek help since the EU debt crisis broke out.

REPORTS NEEDED: The government says it will not act until it has received a raft of reports on how much money Spain needs to save its banks from collapsing under the weight of soured real estate investments.

WIDE RANGE: Estimates of the cost of bailing out Spain's banks vary greatly, from €40 billion ($49.87 billion) to as much as €100 billon.