Since the start of the health crisis, banks have focused their efforts on supporting their customers, seeking to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on households and to sustain business activity by providing liquidity and financing. Now that the end of the state of alarm is approaching, banks’ priority is to drive the economic recovery and help regain the ground lost during the months of lockdown as soon as possible.
At the height of the crisis, Spanish banks strengthened their commitment to employment and brought forward payment deadlines to their suppliers. Their clear commitment to digitalisation over the past decade has made it possible to maintain the provision of financial services without any incidents, despite the partial closure of branches that had to be ordered in order to follow the health recommendations of the authorities. It has become clear that banks were prepared to meet the digital transformation of society, which the pandemic has accelerated exponentially.
However, banks’ determination to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus has gone far beyond ensuring the necessary banking products and services at all times, and facilitating the deferral of payment obligations for many customers in situations of economic stress. The seriousness of the situation has led them to take measures outside the usual operations of a deposit-taking institution. They have allocated funds to help people in the most vulnerable situations, to facilitate the delivery of medical supplies to hospitals, and to research a vaccine for the disease. Their employees have developed projects as volunteers to raise funds and ease the difficulties faced by children and older people, as well as to improve young people’s preparedness to find work. But these are only some examples of banks’ “non-banking” measures, stemming from their commitment to society in the most difficult times.
José Luis Martínez Campuzano, spokesperson for the Spanish Banking Association
