MADRID Nov 12 Shares in Banco Popular gained as much as 6.8 percent on Monday after Spain's sixth-biggest bank secured a 2.5 billion euro ($3.18 billion) capital increase through steep discounts, averting the need to seek state aid. At 8.29 GMT, shares were up 6.9 percent to 1.20 euros. At a special meeting in Madrid on Saturday, large shareholders backed the plan, seen as a key test of Spanish banks' ability to tap markets ($1 = 0.7868 euros) (Reporting By Jesús Aguado; editing by Sarah Morris)
The special meeting in Madrid took place prior to Sunday.