The public interest objective underlying the status of independence leads me to view it as a value that should be preserved and strengthened, for the benefit of properly fulfilling the mission with which the agency has been entrusted and, thereby, of greater social well-being. In any event, independence should be accompanied by guarantees as to the professional competence and personal integrity of the members of the independent body, especially its senior officials, and as to the controls to which it is subject and its accountability. To attain these guarantees, controls and accountability, action must be taken on selection, appointment and dismissal procedures for individuals in management and governance positions in the independent body, on the transparency of conduct and results, and on the governance of the institution. I shall commence by reviewing the arguments that justify the independence of economic authorities and supervisors. I shall then address the elements that give shape to an institution’s formal independence, and their specific configuration in the case of the Banco de España. Thirdly, I shall offer my thoughts on the status of independence as a necessary, but insufficient, condition for independent agencies. I shall then highlight potential ways to strengthen the independence of the Banco de España, moving on thereafter to identifying potential improvements to the financial supervision model in Spain. Lastly, I shall refer to our institution’s control mechanisms and transparency standards, and certain governance aspects.
High-profile international financial institutions such as the IMF are concerned and involved particularly in economic governance issues, as they provide assistance in two key areas: improving public resource management and supporting the development and maintenance of a stable and transparent economic and regulatory environment so as to foster private sector activities. Other institutions such as the OECD and the World Bank are involved in corporate governance, with the latter formulating a set of principles such as ethics and transparency, as well as accountability. To sum up, I should emphasise that corporate governance at present is a matter of greatest concern to the business environment, just the same as we, those involved in formulating macroeconomics, are concerned more broadly with economic governance. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  I believe that emphasis now should be placed primarily on discipline, fiscal discipline in particular, but also on a shift in culture. I also like to add two words that I see essential when speaking about economic governance: stability and confidence. In my view, all efforts these days should be targeted to maintaining stability and restore confidence. Thank you all! 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches