The governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escriva, announced during his first appearance at the Economy Commission of the Congress of Deputies that he would launch a new strategic plan for the period 2025-2030.
This will involve an organizational transformation of the institution, currently underway “internally”, and will involve a “strengthening of areas”, such as technology. Right now, Escriva emphasized, goals are being defined so “that it will be finished in the spring.” The base, he assured, is “transformative, transversal and transparent”.
And part of that involves expanding the supervisor’s staff. “We have verified, we already knew, that the Bank has a very equitable allocation of human resources,” he said.
The Bank of Spain “holds 12% of the capital of the Eurosystem, which is linked to GDP and population”, but “we do not have more than 5% of employees”. “This means that, although we have excellent employees, they are sometimes very stressed and have a lot of difficulty keeping up with the rest of the central banks who have much more human resources, especially in the technological area,” he said. -he justified.
“We are a very efficient bank, but that does not mean that we are equally efficient in all functions,” Escriva concluded during his appearance.
In the presentation with which it accompanied its intervention, the Bank of Spain explains that it has a workforce of 3,473 people, compared to 6,968 at the Bank of Italy or 10,255 at the Bundesbank.
Escriva did not specify the number of recruitments, but this presentation reflects that “the number of people” who work at the Bank “is much lower than that of any other comparable central bank in the Eurosystem”.
In addition, for hiring, we will promote “regular and predictable selection processes with a greater number of positions and we will reduce our temporary employment rate” which amounts to 14%. In addition, “the emphasis will be placed on strengthening technological profiles to promote innovation and the use of data: the Bank of Spain weighs 12% in the capital of the ECB, but only has 5% of the technological resources of the Bundesbank”.
Defense of independence
During his speech, the Governor of the Bank of Spain detailed the functions of the institution and the challenges it faces. Among these functions, he cited the analysis of the Spanish economy. “I think it is compatible to be independent and to advise the Government but we have not developed it sufficiently,” he assured.
“We have this function, but we do not regulate it, which generates a lack of specificity,” he admitted. Concerning the reports, he stressed that these are collective, collegial decisions, which reflect the opinion of the supervisor. On the sidelines are the analyzes carried out by its researchers.
As for other functions, he cited challenges such as improving the bank resolution model. “We need Europe to create a European guarantee fund and pool risks,” he insisted. “It’s on hold.” There, Spain has a “clear position.” If we want to move towards a single banking system, we need Europe to move forward and risks to be pooled in deposit guarantee funds. The Spanish are well resourced, but let each color hold its candle. There are countries that are having difficulty moving in this direction.”
