London, 3 March 2016
- The Spanish economy will continue to grow at a faster rate than Europe's, despite global turmoil and internal uncertainty
- National financial institutions are well-positioned as concern for the sector returns in the EU
Funcas presents the Spanish Economic and Financial Outlook (SEFO) magazine to the international community, before a group of corporate investors in London today. In an act entitled ‘Spain’s economy and financial system: What to expect in the new legislative term'. Carlos Ocaña, CEO of Funcas, explained that the rate of growth of the Spanish economy will continue to be higher than Europe's despite a worsening of the global situation and internal political uncertainty. In its opinion, Spain will continue its recovery process. This will be due to the persistence of two of the factors on which it has supported itself so far: Improved competitiveness through labour costs. And also thanks to the policy of the European Central Bank.
The event, which was hosted by the publication's editor, Alice Faibishenko, also addressed concerns about the impact of political instability on investment. It also addressed funding flows, at least in the short and medium term, as well as the adjustment of the financial sector, one of the most intense in recent Spanish history. It touched on forecasts for the coming financial years.
Funcas, expectations in the sector
Santiago Carbó, Funcas Director of Financial Studies, highlighted that although the situation of European banks is once again worrying, the Spanish are very well positioned due to the restructuring process they have carried out. In his opinion, Spanish companies are better prepared to face the coming challenges. "No other European country has changed the structure of the sector so much." This process has been key in adjusting supply and demand, one of the problems that remains unresolved in the EU. The credit recovery in 2016 following a four-year slowdown - despite the impact that regulatory pressure could have - and the decrease in delinquencies from 8% in 2016 to 3% in 2019 are some of the positive variables that will be seen in Spain.
Francisco Rodríguez, on the other hand, referred to the expectations of new merger processes. He also mentioned the continued adjustments to the number of branches and employees in the financial sector. Funcas's investigator recalled that between 2012 and 2015 the number of offices was cut from 37,903 to 31,021 and the number employees fell from 231,389 to 194,688. Additional cutbacks are envisaged for 2019 in pursuit of the final figure of 28,000 branches and 180,000 employees. Rodríguez also highlighted the improved credit conditions for SMEs and debt renegotiation processes with businesses.
The event was organised jointly with the Cecabank London branch. It offers banking services to non-resident companies in Spain. Rafael Linde, Branch Manager, commented on the main business lines of the bank: Securities Services, Treasury Management and Banking Services. He also highlighted its solvency and liquidity data.
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