The governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escriva, has taken up his duties at the institution at a key moment for the near future of the entity. Escriva, accompanied by Soledad Núñez as vice-governor, is preparing a mandate to dispel all doubts about his independence, called into question by the passage of the Council of Ministers to the management of the Bank, and to strengthen the transparency of the institution he leads. leads. . For this, will revise the Bank of Spain’s autonomy law after 30 years with the consensus of the Board of Governors, which created a working group to adopt “best practices and the generation of an institutional culture that makes transparency a principle inspired by our actions.”
Almost four decades after beginning his professional career at the Bank of Spain – he began working for the BdE in 1985 and the following decade he went to the European Monetary Institute and later to the European Central Bank (ECB) -, Escriva returns to succeed his “colleague” of 25 years, Pablo Hernández de Cos, with training and experience in central banks, where governors express a strong tradition and culture of independence.
Improvements and actions related to independence, transparency and accountability will be subject to review by a new working group of the Government Council that will be led by the banking advisor proposed by the PP, Fernando Fernándezas confirmed by sources from the Bank of Spain. The changes adopted in the areas of transparency and communication, led by Paloma Marín, reveal Escrivá’s strategy to strengthen these tasks.
Escriva will audit the actions carried out by the Bank of Spain to assess their effectiveness by retouching the “Independent” assessment office created by Hernández de Cos, former governor who gave way to Albacete. This office will report directly to the Government Council, whereas previously it only reported to the governor. Its action plan, entrusted to the new councilor Lucía Rodríguezstill needs to be approved by the Government Council. It is all part of the changes that will be addressed in the autonomy law.
The governing body will also ratify this afternoon the new organization chart which will culminate in the renewal of the entity after the entry of Escrivá, where it is expected that the role of the entity’s studies department will be strengthened.
The strategic plans prepared by the Bank of Spain will now be oriented towards the medium term, in view of the full six-year mandate that Escrivá begins. Thus, the income and expenditure policy that will be included in the Bank’s budgets will also be developed in the medium term.
“This improvement in transparency must undoubtedly lead citizens to better understand the functions of the bank. We must strive to bring our work and our immense assets closer to citizens,” explained the governor. Digitalization and technological innovation will have a lot to do with this process that aims to facilitate access to information, economic data and the “modus operandi” of the regulator.
Escriva stressed the importance of “carrying out our duties with humility.” “Institutions must not only be independent, they must also maintain an open and receptive attitude. This disposition, together with our integrity and our vocation for public service, will be fundamental so that we can continue to progress to make the Bank of Spain a respected, reliable, impartial and committed institution for the well-being of our society,” he said in his speech at the inauguration, where he was accompanied by figures such as Ana Botín (Banco Santander) or Gerardo Cuerva (Cepyme). From Hernández de Cos he received luck so that his achievements are those of all Spaniards.
