Español
The newspaper EL ESPAÑOL and Invertia held the 3rd Finance Observatory from 7 to 9 of March. As in previous years, it took place at the Camilo José Cela University Almagro Campus, with José Luis Escrivá, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations; Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain; Rodrigo Buenaventura, president of the CNMV; José Carlos Garcia de Quevedo, president of the ICO; and Alejandra Kindelán, president of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), among others.
In his address, the Minister José Luis Escriva, who is currently in the news due to the ongoing negotiations to reform the pension system, announced at UCJC that “we have practically reached an agreement.” He specified that the European Commission has given its approval of the content and that civil servants from the Department of Social Security will meet with the different social agents to finalise the royal decree-law, which would make the fourth payment of the EU Next Generation funds.
Uncertainty for the governor of the Bank of Spain
Another of the most anticipated participations of this Observatory was that of Pablo Hernandez de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain, who was optimistic about the progress of Spanish GDP and announced that “it is highly probable that we will revise the growth forecasts for 2023 upwards”, something that “we will announce throughout the month of March”.
As for Spanish core inflation growth rate , he stressed that “it will remain high” and that “it will only moderate in the coming months”, to which is added world inflation.
De Cos pointed out in his address the “high levels of uncertainty” and has asked for the financial sector to be cautious. He highlighted the important role of savings buffers accumulated by families during the pandemic era and warned about their depletion. He also highlighted the dynamism of the job market and job protection schemes, such as the ERTE furlough scheme, which contributed to buoying the market in recent months.