Some are also calling for a government of national unity… I am simply suggesting that joint action by consensus would be the best approach to take for the Spanish economy. It is up to the elected representatives to decide on whether or not the best approach, within a framework of understanding, is to make an explicit pact or establish a certain type of government. What conditions are required to reach an understanding of this nature? I think the important thing is to establish a framework of mutual trust and loyalty between the government and the opposition; and that is a two-way street. Banks are in a difficult position: at a time when they still have not restored their business models after years of low interest rates, the current scenario has again been prolonged indefinitely. How do you think this will affect the sector? 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  The banking sector is facing this situation from a much more robust position than ten years ago. It is true that it has profitability issues and the deep recession will affect its bottom line. But there are no solvency problems. The financial markets experienced some problems during the initial days of this crisis, but they were not caused by the banking sector. The situation has to a certain extent returned to normal, although not completely, while prices have partially recovered and volatility has eased.
This is a little unsettling, because during the last 20 years we have been successful in establishing as a better practice the approval of the compliance program by the board of directors. One might think that, if the board of directors approves the compliance program, then it should not be difficult for the chief ethics and compliance officer to get the business owners to pay close attention. The devil here, as in so many other places, lies in the details. It is usually the implementation of the compliance program that causes the conflict. It is usually related to the cost of compliance, because the cost ordinarily affects how the business owner measures success, which is the size of the business’ profit. The chief ethics and compliance officer will not be able to resolve the conflict easily, because compliance is a cost to the business which can make compliance the adversary of the business owner. The chief ethics and compliance officer will not want to bring a specific conflict issue to the attention of the board of directors. While this might be very effective in resolving the specific conflict, it could absolutely destroy her ability to function effectively thereafter. In a recent survey of chief ethics and compliance officers conducted by Price Waterhouse, the survey respondents identified as a problem their “struggle to gain the attention of the board of directors.”6 Two specific issues were identified.