On the basis of these tenets, and within the framework of international co-ordination I have referred to, banking systems as internationalised, interdependent, liberalised, dynamic and complex as those at present require an increasingly less intrusive and more incentives-based form of regulation, along with more preventive supervision. To achieve such regulation and supervision we are, at the national and international levels, setting aside ever more resources. The relevance of all these matters has been duly reflected in the work of different groups at the international level, addressing the associated accounting, financial regulation and corporate governance facets. In the EU, we may mention the action envisaged under the Financial Services Action Plan, or the work of groups such as the High Level Group of Company Law Experts. And in the international domain we have the work of the International Accounting Standards Board. In Spain the Financial Law, currently under passage through Parliament, heralds many improvements, one of which is particularly significant for banking supervision. This is, namely, the possibility of considering as a breach of disciplinary rules the situation whereby a credit institution’s solvency and viability is jeopardised by administrative or accounting shortcomings or deficiencies in internal control procedures, including those relating to risk management. The methodology known as Supervision of Banking Activity under the Risk Approach, on which the Banco de España has been working, provides a framework suited to meeting the challenges posed to Spanish banking supervision by the aforementioned aspects.
Being the first winners of this competition also carries with it the responsibility for you to implement your business plan successfully and set a high standard for subsequent winners in the years to come. I thank you for your attention! BIS Review 103/2010  3