The IMF forecasts cumulative economic losses of $12 trillion from the start of the health crisis until 2021. To put this into perspective, this amount is equivalent to the GDP generated in Europe in a single year. Another dramatic calculation comes from the International Labour Organization, which estimates that the lost working hours are equivalent to 500 million jobs.
Such horrific figures demand decisive responses, consensus, and cooperation in all areas. On a global scale, it is estimated that the fiscal stimulus implemented has exceeded $11 trillion, an unprecedented figure. The monetary expansion implemented to stabilize financial markets and deliver the liquidity needed by families and businesses through banks has also been exceptional. Banks have been involved from the start, demonstrating that public-private partnership is essential to protect the productive fabric and mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable. Authorities, companies, and banks have taken the necessary measures so far.
On the health front, we are learning to live with the pandemic responsibly, with social distancing and masks in our daily lives, among other measures. On the economic front, we must also maintain the principles that have yielded such good results so far: immediacy, decisiveness, and perseverance in the strategy to be followed. For this strategy to work, it requires the consensus of all agents on an international scale. Such as the consensus demonstrated by Europe with the creation of a joint fund to reinforce the measures taken in each country to achieve sustainable and digital growth. A hopeful consensus that has the full readiness of banks to finance it.
José Luis Martínez Campuzano, spokesperson for the Spanish Banking Association
