We must, moreover, act with the urgency demanded by our responsibilities as active members of the common European project in defence of stability and the success of this project. The report I present today is specifically geared to contribute to this task. From spring last year, the economic indicators offered signs that the world economy was emerging from the most critical phase of the gravest real and financial crisis since the Great Depression. Progress since along the path to recovery has been much more evident in the emerging economies, for which the latest projections indicate growth rates above 6% for 2010. By contrast, the developed countries’ economies are recovering at a considerably less dynamic rate, of around 2%. This turnaround confirms that the rapid and energetic economic policy action to support financial systems, to stimulate demand and to sustain confidence was pivotal in halting a spiral of recession and financial instability which, had it continued, would have undoubtedly had disastrous consequences for the world economy. Halting this recessionary spiral was crucial for placing the world economy once again on a path of sustained output and employment growth. But if the incipient recovery – still subject to considerable uncertainty and risks – is to take root, further measures on various fronts will be needed. The bulk of the measures adopted to check the accelerated economic and financial downturn were exceptional. Accordingly, they have to be withdrawn.
This meant that private sector solutions were prioritised, as has been seen in the processes that have unfolded in the past few months. Today, it is fair to say that the restructuring and recapitalisation of Spain’s financial institutions is well under way. It is now just a case of formalising and implementing the agreements reached. As a result, Spain’s deposit institutions that did not already have sufficient capital have now secured it, either from the markets or from the FROB. The Banco  8  BIS Review 86/2010  de España has conducted stress tests to verify that all institutions – banks, savings banks and credit co-operatives – will actually have sufficient capital available, not only for what would currently seem to be the most reasonable scenarios, but also for complex growth scenarios in the near future. Accordingly, before end-June, the Banco de España will take the steps necessary to formalise the processes already agreed and to ensure they are correctly implemented. If, by month-end, any of these processes has failed, or any institution has been left behind, the Bank will act, using the mechanisms envisaged for this purpose in the FROB legislation. Moreover, the Bank intends to publish the results of these stress tests, to reveal the deterioration estimated, the consequent capital requirements and the capital funding committed, to provide the markets with a perfectly clear idea of the situation of the Spanish banking system.