Numerous prestigious speakers passed through the Financial City of the entity, such as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, the Governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá, and the General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements and Spanish candidate to lead the ECB, Pablo Fernández de Cos.
In her welcoming speech, President Ana Botín spoke about the risk in Europe that low growth could become structural. Therefore, she advocated for the role of the financial sector as a driver of that growth and called for less regulatory pressure on entities. She also focused on the strategic priorities of the sector, which in her opinion involve investment in data and artificial intelligence; in the energy system networks, in affordable housing, and in the defence industry.
Subsequently, Botín participated in an informal chat with Kristalina Georgieva. The IMF Director analysed the global economy and the role of banks in driving investment, productivity, and prosperity. She warned that many governments are struggling to contain spending and reduce debt, and advocated for ordering public accounts after the crisis. Her message included the need to "cut the head off populism".
Another significant meeting was the interview that Héctor Grisi, CEO of Banco Santander, conducted with the Governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá, which revolved around growth and stability in the banking sector. Escrivá identified fragmentation as the major obstacle to stimulating credit in Europe: "There are so many elements that create national borders that limit the ability to provide banking services on a European scale." For the governor, what matters is that the banking system is "very well prepared to support growth and to back all the investment that needs to be made".
The Governor of the Bank of Spain also spoke about AI. He noted that Europe has not been present in the first wave of the development of this technology, although it has very good researchers. The problem, according to him, is that those researchers leave because success is not sufficiently rewarded in Europe, nor is failure in innovation accepted. It is an old cultural problem that is also reflected in regulation.
Pablo Fernández de Cos also spoke about AI, dedicating his speech to the threats and opportunities it poses for the financial sector. The General Manager of the BIS believes it is still to be seen whether AI reduces or widens the gap between economies, something that will depend on investment in digital infrastructure and skills, competition, data governance, and having solid institutions. "For central banks, AI does not change the model, but it makes the economy harder to understand, which raises the importance of measurement and judgement," he explained.
