José Luis Escriva’s first week as governor of the Bank of Spain has consisted of reorganizing the management positions. The management has been renewed with Soledad Núñez, a house economist, as deputy governor. And two other professionals have joined the Governing Council: Lucie Rodriguez as advisor to the institution, replacing Núñez and Paloma Marinas director of a newly created area, will have a voice but no vote in the supervisor’s executive committee. Voices within the PP denounce the lack of transparency in the process and the lack of unanimity in decision-making. The governor’s entourage praises the appointments aimed at strengthening parity between management positions as a commitment of Escrivá himself.
The Executive Commission of the Bank of Spain deliberated on Monday before the Council of Ministers on the names proposed for this internal reorganization. The table is composed mainly of socialist names, with the exception of Fernando Fernández, who opposed the proposal presented by the new governor.
From the Bank of Spain, they celebrate the plurality of opinions of this body and assure that it is not at all unusual that there are debates and divergences of opinions in this type of vote carried out within the supervisor. Fernández himself has already positioned himself against other aspects previously discussed within the Bank, these sources affirm.
Lucía Rodríguez comes from the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) that Escrivá chaired between 2014 and 2020. Her appointment prevents women from losing their presence in the Executive Committee of the Bank of Spain. Rodríguez replaces the new deputy governor, and both appointments respond to her professional career beyond gender, says the Bank of Spain.
Paloma Marín has a long career as a legal professional at the Bank of Spain, which seems to qualify her to be promoted and occupy a seat in the meetings of the Executive Committee, since she had already held positions of responsibility for 15 years. Within the institution, they assure that it is a respected and admired person among the Bank’s officialsHe will lead the General Directorate of Institutional, European Relations and Transparency with Inés Calderón as head of communications for the Escriva firm, which he has supported since his term as minister.
The Governing Council is composed as follows: Escriva and Núñez at the head, with Judith Arnal, Carles Manera, Luis Servén, Lucía Rodríguez and Jordi Pons, Paula Conthe (Tesoro) and Monsterrat Martínez (CNMV) as advisors. The General Directors of the different sectors of the Bank attend, with voice and without vote, the presence of Paloma Marín and Mariano Serrano as staff representative.
Upon arrival, one of Escrivá’s premises was ensure the continuity of its appointment policy in terms of gender equityas explained by the entity. In his last portfolio, that of Digital Transformation and Public Service, he elected three Secretaries of State for the three branches of the ministry: Mayte Ledo, María González and Clara Mapelli, heading the areas of Digitization and AI, Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure and Public Sector. Service, respectively.
