In any  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  event, as it takes a long time for any drive of this nature to mature, it is also in everybody’s interest to set about studying and putting in place the necessary arrangements as soon as possible. Progress in correcting the external imbalance It is in the external sector where the swiftest and sharpest correction of imbalances is being made. The adjustment in the external sector continued in 2012 and, as a result, after posting a surplus in the second half of the year (an unprecedented development since the launch of EMU), the current account was practically in balance, with a deficit of only 0.2% of GDP for the year as a whole. Current forecasts point to surpluses on the current account for 2013, 2014 and successive years. In addition to the contraction in imports attributable to the fall-off in domestic spending, this performance reflects the restoring of the competitiveness lost by the Spanish economy during the expansion that ended in 2008. By late 2012, two-thirds of the gap built up since 2000 between Spanish unit labour costs and those for the euro area on average had already been corrected. These gains in competitiveness have been accompanied, in the most recent period, by notable growth in the number of exporting firms and by greater geographical diversification of our exports, with an ever-increasing weight of those targeted on emerging markets.
In view of the extent and risks of the current crisis, fiscal policy will need to consider and prepare the deployment of additional stabilisation measures alongside the automatic stabilisers. In addition to the increased focus on economic policy, business practitioners within the Swiss economy are also challenged. In the case of banks, it is essential that credit shortages for companies and private households be avoided. Moreover, interbank business needs to be strengthened in order to smooth out liquidity imbalances. Companies must enhance their innovativeness and use opportunities for opening up new markets. The Swiss economy has many structural strengths and this prompts confidence that Switzerland will overcome the crisis. BIS Review 5/2009  1