President of Ibérica Press Group, Javier Moll, emphasized that “Banks have managed to strengthen themselves and are undoubtedly in a stronger position today.”. During his intervention I Finance ForumAt the event organized by the Prensa Ibérica group and Grandt Thornton at the Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid, Moll touched upon the “lessons” the Spanish banking sector learned during the 2008 financial crisis. the arrival of covid-19 or the financial turbulences that led to the collapse of Credit Suisse this year or the collapse of three major banks in the US.
Moll recalled: Stress test carried out by European Central Bank They also point “more power” and “Underline the solid resilience of Spanish financial institutions.” But this does not mean that we should lower our guard in a situation where the ECB repeatedly raises interest rates to combat high inflation; even less. Tightening monetary policy causes the cost of credit to increase, which may create payment difficulties for some customers.
This is a special moment of uncertainty, where geopolitical tensions outline an uncertain macroeconomic scenario and “possible Consequences on employment and activity“, recalled the president of the Prensa Ibérica group. In this context, “a negative impact may occur on the quality of bank assets and at the same time further narrow the demand for credit.” improving solvency and profitability.
Despite these challenges, Moll emphasized that Spanish banking has recorded “very positive results” in the last two years. Especially, six main banks spanish people Included in Ibex 35 (Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, Bankinter and Unicaja Banco) In the first nine months of the year they earned a total of 19 billion 761 million euros, which is 23.4% more Compared to the same period in the previous year (16,014.1 million euros), this was mainly thanks to an increase in official interest rates in the euro area to 4.5%.
Finally, Moll wanted to draw attention to two major challenges facing Spanish banking in the long term. One of them is ecological transitionThe sector “plays a key role in financing the investments required to fuel a green economy with zero emissions.” If the second digital transformationa challenge that requires “the allocation of resources and enormous amounts” to adapt business models to technological advances.