The bank maintains a positive view of the economic situation in Spain. This was stated by Peio Belausteguigoitia, country manager of BBVA Spain, at the 31st Financial Sector Meeting organized by ABC and Deloitte. However, The country also faces challenges and threats in the short and medium term; the main one, the global geopolitical situation.
The head of BBVA in Spain has highlighted that its research service revised upwards Spain’s estimated GDP for 2024, raising it to 2.9%, from 2.5% in June. This increase responds to a more favorable than expected scenario, driven by both internal and external demand, he said. And he added that the average annual inflation in 2024 is expected to be 2.8%, a decrease compared to 3.5% in 2023, “which gives respite to both companies and consumers,” he commented. In this context, «The banking sector in Spain projects a panorama of expansion and solidity “which will allow us to strengthen financial activity and respond to the needs of the market in an environment of greater stability,” he concluded.
Víctor Iglesias, CEO of Ibercaja, shares this positive thought about the economic situation and the evolution of growth for the next two-three years. He appreciates a positive tone of economic growth, job creation, inflation control… A favorable scenario for the sector. However, the risks are not few. The vice president of the ECB, Luis de Guindos, had already warned at the opening of the day about the geopolitical and protectionist risks following Donald Trump’s victory in the United States.
Iglesias, in his case, has been forceful in his statements following a very similar line to the leader of the banking supervisor: «If anything can ruin all this (economic and sector situation) it is the geopolitical risk. If it materializes, it would be the only risk that could put an end to this scenario,” says the manager.
banking business
The relationship with the client, has also occupied an important part of this second day of the 31st Meeting of the Financial Sector. Javier Marín, CEO of Singular Bank, has insisted on this; Iñigo Martos, CEO of Deutsche Bank Spain; and Carlos Aso, CEO of Andbank. “Customer centricity” has been one of the most repeated concepts.
Marín has highlighted that entities, especially those more specialized in advice, have gone from simply selling products to being “the client’s financial directors and accompanying them”; In short, gain their trust to provide a differential service.
Martos has also insisted on the idea that one of his great functions is to “help clients evolve”, particularly with regard to savings and investment. “The client is the one in the center and we are the ones who have to adapt.”
Aso, for its part, beyond that concept, has influenced the challenge posed by all the regulations in the sector. “Regulation is a factor that must be taken care of and requires being efficient, having technology, scale and giving the client everything they need, complying with all regulations,” he said, adding that in the advisory and private banking segment there are a “need to concentrate and gain scale.” In this sense, he highlighted that “regulation requires more and more compliance, and for that you also need scale to do your job optimally.”
The CEOs of Singular Bank and Deutsche Bank Spain have also agreed on the importance and requirement of regulation for the sector, delving into the fact that It would be necessary to have a more unified and efficient regulation.
From the more traditional commercial banking side, messages have also been launched about the need to provide a specialized and personalized service to each client. Eduardo Ruiz de Gordejuela, CEO of Kutxabank, has elaborated that “the client must have the power at all times to decide how they relate to us. The client is sovereign and knows what is best for him”, in reference to the use of digital or in-person channels.
In his opinion, the most efficient form of relationship with the bank is digital, “but for important decisions the client appreciates personal treatment, which is sometimes in person and sometimes remotely. The emergence of digital has not caused the face-to-face care model to die.
Real estate sector
Beyond the financial sector, real estate has also had a place in this forum. A central issue right now in the public debate centered on the problem of housing prices and the lack of housing itself. Managers in the sector all agree on the need to create more land, build more, and draw attention to a challenge they have: attracting capital.
Sergio Gálvez, CEO of AQ-Acentor, highlighted that “we have been saying for years that nothing was being done to solve something that is a fact”, such as the housing problem. «We are consuming land from before the crisis and that has ordinances from 25 years ago. And the Spanish family has changed,” he said, to add a fact: “We are the second European country that manufactures the least housing per number of inhabitants.”
Jordi Argemí, CEO and CFO of Neinor Homes, emphasizes that Money is needed, a lot of it, to be able to try to address the lack of supplywhich is estimated at about 200,000 homes per year. «Attracting capital is one of the most important challenges in this sector. The political instability that is generated in Spain does not help. “We are not able to attract capital if we have noise and the wind against us,” he said. Francisco Pérez, CEO of Culmia, agrees with this need to raise funds. «The main problem is the attraction of capital. “It requires a very big action,” he pointed out, adding that public subsidies are also needed to complement private investment, especially with regard to affordable housing.
Jorge Pérez de Leza, CEO of Metrovacesa, also goes further by claiming not only more capital in the sector but also greater flexibility in project development and a better “alignment of the Administrations and within the Administration itself. In certain administrations the urgency is felt, and some are beginning to set objectives of thousands of homes to be produced, but when you land on the technical aspect or the municipality that approach does not exist.
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