Pablo Hernández de Cos: Latin American economies - developments and challenges

Speech by Mr Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain and Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, at the Consejo Empresarial Alianza por Iberoamérica (CEAPI), 25 February 2021.

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

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

First of all, I would like to thank the Consejo Empresarial Alianza por Iberoamérica (CEAPI) and its President, Núria Vilanova, for the kind invitation to participate in this event. I should also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the role that the CEAPI plays to support the business and investment of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American firms.

As you all well know, Latin America is a very important region for Spain owing to our close cultural and economic ties. It is likewise important for the Banco de España, as evidenced by one of the initiatives in our Strategic Plan for 2020–2024:1 positioning the Banco de España as a leading central bank for Latin America. This objective entails engaging in a series of actions, such as organising events, entering into and implementing cooperative agreements with central banks and institutions in the region, and the provision of services and international cooperation, all with a medium and long-term strategic view. It also means working to extend and improve our institution's analytical capacity and its visibility vis-à-vis the region's economies and financial systems. Fortunately, it is already viewed as a benchmark in this regard within the Eurosystem.