Luis M Linde: Spain - from recovery to resilience

Opening remarks by Mr Luis M Linde, Governor of the Bank of Spain, at the Bank of Spain-IMF High-Level Seminar "Spain - from recovery to resilience", Madrid, 3 April 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me welcome you to this Banco de España and International Monetary Fund joint conference devoted to the recent evolution of the Spanish economy in the Euro-Zone and European Union context.

I would like to thank the International Monetary Fund, represented here today by David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director, Poul Thomsen, Director of the European Department and Andrea Schaechter, Mission Chief for Spain, for their proposal to organise this conference. The Banco de España was more than pleased to accept, considering it to be very timely and of great interest.

As to the title of the conference: "Spain: From Recovery to Resilience", allow me, before going forward, a candid clarification: I can assure you that it is far from our intent to suggest any pessimistic forecast or premonition. The title refers to our economy's resilience in the face of a hypothetical cyclical downturn which, needless to say, we hope will be later rather than sooner.