The third edition of the Financial Meeting took place today at the CECA headquarters in Madrid, featuring the Chairperson of the European Banking Authority (EBA), Andrea Enria. For the first time, the event was jointly organized by the AEB and CECA.
During his speech, Andrea Enria reviewed the milestones of the restructuring of the European financial system, the results of which were evident in the stress tests conducted in October last year.
Furthermore, he focused on the remaining challenges which, in his opinion, involve completing the reform of the European financial system and the deleveraging of the public and private sectors, improving the functioning of internal risk management models, and restoring investor and market confidence in the banks that make up the new European financial sector.
The EBA Chairperson defended reforms aimed at strengthening capital, arguing that evidence shows banks reaching adequate capital levels have experienced higher credit growth, gained market share, and succeeded in attracting cheaper financing. However, the process is not over, as Enria believes two aspects require further depth: the European-level harmonization of the definition of capital (which should align with the standards set by Basel) and the establishment of the European banking resolution framework. In short, he is convinced that the challenge now lies in improving coordination among all institutions to apply existing regulations.
Regarding the bank assessment tests conducted jointly by the EBA and the European Central Bank (comprehensive assessment), he highlighted that they clearly demonstrate the system’s solidity, marked by a capital increase from 9.2% in the 2011 stress tests to 11.8%. This increase has allowed European banks to reach capital levels comparable to those of American banks, thanks to the restructuring and recapitalization efforts of the entities and the thorough cleaning up of their balance sheets.
More than two hundred representatives of the Spanish financial industry attended this meeting, having the opportunity to share the EBA’s views on the present and immediate future of the European financial sector.
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