Pablo Hernández de Cos: The challenges facing Spanish non-financial corporations

Speech by Mr Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain and Chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, 3rd Regional Family Firm Congress- Murcia Family Firm Association (AMEFMUR), 28 September 2021.

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

Central bank speech  | 
15 November 2021
by Pablo Hernández de Cos
PDF full text
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  |  16 pages

Mr. President of the Autonomous Community of Murcia, Mr. President of the Regional Assembly of Murcia, Mr. Delegate of the Government, Mr. Regional Minister of Economics, Finance and Digital Administration, honourable authorities, and ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Let me begin by thanking the Murcia Family Firm Association and its president, José María Tortosa, for their kind invitation to participate in this Murcia Region Family Firm AVANZA forum. My address will focus on the impact of the crisis on the business sector, the main uncertainties associated with the recovery and the challenges ahead. 

The effects of the pandemic on the business sector 

As is well known, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted business activity with unprecedented force, albeit with differing intensity across sectors and firms of different sizes. By way of illustration, within each sector micro-firms saw their revenues decline in 2020 by 5-7 percentage points more than larger companies.