It would naturally require commitment of substantial capital and human resources from both the banks and the regulators. We should all work together, therefore, to achieve these goals. This should not only be the objective of the Central Bank as we are all guardians of financial stability – I trust this conference will provide an adequate forum for open discussion. Thank you. 2/2
And we have the tightening of provisioning arrangements, which has entailed stricter requirements in respect of asset valuation criteria. I would also like to highlight the efforts to reinforce transparency, through the disclosure of exhaustive information on all Spanish institutions’ exposure to assets considered doubtful. The latest measure of significance was the approval in Parliament of a Royal Decree-Law (RDL), whose aim was to dispel doubts about our banking system. These doubts emerged essentially as a result of the contagion of the mistrust stemming from the sovereign debt crisis in certain euro area countries. Three months later, this RDL may be said to have contributed significantly to allaying fears about the soundness of our banking sector and to substantially speeding through the restructuring of our savings banks. The RDL reinforces the solvency of all Spanish institutions, requiring of them a core capital ratio of at least 8%, with a further 2% required for unlisted banks and those more reliant on wholesale markets, which are those in which the main doubts were concentrated. The RDL also stipulates that institutions receiving public aid should pursue their financial activity through a bank, which will better enable them to obtain funds on markets and will contribute to enhancing their transparency in the face of investors. The process laid down in the RDL is unfolding as scheduled.